Iran denies nuke activity at military site

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Iran said on Wednesday that "no nuclear activity whatsoever" has taken place at its military site of Parchin, which UN nuclear watchdog inspectors demanded last week to visit but were refused.

"No nuclear activity whatsoever has taken place on the Parchin site," the head of Iran's Nuclear Energy Organization, Fereydoon Abbasi Davani, was quoted by the official IRNA News Agency as saying after a cabinet session. "It is up to the country's military officials to decide any request by foreign nationals to visit Parchin," he added.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said last week it "continues to have serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program" following an unsuccessful visit to Teheran by a five-strong inspection team.

The inspectors, who visited on Feb 20 and 21, had asked to see the Parchin military base east of Teheran but Iranian officials rejected the request.

New sanctions

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insists that the Obama administration is moving swiftly to impose tough new sanctions on Iran amid concerns in Congress that the White House won't be aggressive enough in cracking down on financial institutions that do business with Teheran's Central Bank.

"What we are intending to do is to ratchet up these sanctions as hard and fast as we can, follow what's going on inside Iran, which seems to be a lot of economic pressures that we think does have an impact on decision-making," Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.

The first round of penalties under the far-reaching defense bill that President Barack Obama signed into law on Dec 31 went into effect on Wednesday, and lawmakers expected an announcement from the administration on the steps it plans to take to thwart Iran's disputed nuclear program. The United States, the European Union and others have slapped a rapid series of sanctions on Teheran. Congress added to the penalties late last year.

Questions:

1. What is the name of the military site?

2. When did the inspectors visit?

3. When was the defense bill signed into law by Obama

Answers:

1. Parchin

2. Feb 20 and 21

3. Dec 31

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.