In an attempt to distort facts, the US Secretary of State implies that Iran was not the first to make an announcement about its new nuclear plant.

"This latest incident concerning the facility at Qom would have been disclosed were it for peaceful purposes. There would have already been IAEA inspections," Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a Sunday televised interview.

"The facility had only become known through our working with partners to discover it prior to the Iranian announcement" she added.

Ignoring findings of a recent NIE update, Clinton said the Iranians must "present convincing evidence as to the purpose of their nuclear program" in the October 1 meeting with the P5+1 (permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany).

The National Intelligence Estimate update, which was put together by US spy agencies, clarified that there was no evidence to prove Iran's nuclear work was in anyway military.

Clinton made the remarks while Iran had written a letter to the UN nuclear watchdog on September 21 (days before the US publicized the issue), saying that it was constructing a second plant for uranium enrichment.

Tehran sent the letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency 12 months prior to the date set for the plant to enter operational phase.

Despite Western attempts to accuse Iran of "secrecy", several days after the publication of Iran's letter, a US counter-proliferation official confirmed that Washington knew about the second Iranian nuclear plant "for several years".

US officials continue to represent Iran's clear openness as a "hidden agenda", while avoiding a series of questions raised by Tehran about how they conduct their nuclear activities.