Congressman Eliot Engel released the following statement condemning Iran's secret underground nuclear facility.

Washington, D.C.--“The revelation that Iran has built a secret nuclear enrichment plant is just one more reason not to trust anything the Ahmadinejad regime says. The international community must intensify its sanctions on Iran to press the regime to halt its nuclear schemes. Congress should also step up the pressure by passing the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, which would limit the flow of refined Iranian crude oil back into Iran as gasoline, and the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act, which would enable states and local governments to divest from Iran's oil and natural gas sector.

“It is clear from the secrecy in which this plant was shrouded by the Iranian government that its intentions are not peaceful. Secret nuclear enrichment plants do nothing to improve Iran’s power grid or help the Iranian people. This is a facility built to create nuclear weapons to threaten the United States and our allies in Israel, Europe, Asia and around the world. The international community must not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons; the consequences of such a development are staggering.”