Gibbs: Iran must offer 'unfettered access'

The White House on Monday condemned Iran's latest missile test and strongly encouraged President Ahmadinejad to permit weapons inspections.

That commitment to cooperation would be the "least [Iran] could do" in the week preceding the state's scheduled Oct. 1 negotiations with the P-5+1 -- a group of representatives from Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said.

"They have one of two paths that they can take. They can continue down the path they've been on ... or [Iran] can make a decision to step away from a nuclear weapons program, and build confidence in the world," Gibbs said during Monday's press briefing.

The nuclear standoff between the United States and Iran returned to headlines this weekend after evidence emerged that Tehran had constructed a second, secret uranium refinement plant in the city of Qum.

After acknowledging the facility's existence on Saturday, President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sakorzy rebuked Iran for its actions, while U.S. lawmakers repeated their calls for a new round of sanctions against the embattled state.

However, Gibbs on Monday explained Iran's latest acts of brinkmanship would not put an early end to next week's negotiations. But, the press secretary added, Iran needed to offer "unfettered access" to inspectors if it wished to win the world's support.

"I think first and foremost the P5 + 1 strongly supports the [International Atomic Energy Association's] call for immediate and unfettered access to Qum -- the facility, the personnel and the documents related to the construction of that facility," Gibbs said.

"I think that's certainly what we would hope Iran is willing to do, to engage in full transparency, to demonstrate to the world it will give up its nuclear weapons program and ensure that whatever it does is in the peaceful pursuit of nuclear energy," he added.