Special
Report: Iran Nuclear Crisis
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A view of the underground uranium
enrichment plant at Natanz, Iran , is seen in this DigitalGlobe satellite
image released with notations by the Institute for Science and
International Security (ISIS) on April 16, 2006. (Xinhua/AFP)
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TEHRAN, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Iranian officials on
Tuesday welcomed a new U.S. intelligence report that concluded the Islamic
Republic is not actively building a nuclear weapon, while Israel said the report
justified the need for tighter international sanctions on Tehran.
"We naturally welcome those countries that had
questions about Iran's nuclear case in the past and now correct their views
realistically," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying
by the state radio.
"The whole world is becoming to know that Iran's
nuclear activities are peaceful," he added.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali
Hosseini, in a statement faxed to the media on Tuesday, also welcomed the U.S.
intelligence report as "positive and factual."
The report reflected the elaboration of 16 U.S.
intelligent services and confirmed that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and
no violation is detected, Hosseini said.
Therefore, the previous claims of U.S. officials
turned out to be totally baseless, Hosseini said, adding that sending Iran's
case to the UN Security Council had been "illegal."
Iran's government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham,
commenting on the U.S. intelligence report, said on Tuesday that Washington
should "pay the price" for its accusations against Tehran.
"U.S. officials have so far inflicted many damage on
the Iranian nation by spreading lies against the country and by disturbing
public opinion, therefore, they have to pay the price for their action," Elham
said.
Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Tuesday that the latest U.S.
intelligence report on Iran's nuclear activities was "consistent" with the
organization's findings in recent years.
"Although Iran still needs to clarify some important
aspects of its past and present nuclear activities, the agency has no concrete
evidence of an ongoing nuclear weapons program or undeclared nuclear facilities
in Iran," ElBaradei said in a statement.
This new assessment by the United States should help
to defuse the current crisis, and encourage Iran to more actively cooperate with
the IAEA on its current nuclear activities, he added.
However, Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister,
said on Tuesday that the new U.S. intelligence report on Iran's nuclear program
justified the need for tighter international sanctions on the Islamic Republic
to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Olmert was quoted by Israeli daily Ha'aretz as saying
that "we discussed this report with leaders of the (U.S.) administration."
"It is vital to pursue efforts to prevent Iran from
developing a capability like this and we will continue doing so along with our
friends the United States," he added.
The U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which
came out on Monday, found out that Iran stopped an effort to develop nuclear
weapons in the fall of 2003 but it continues to enrich uranium.
The estimate is less severe than a 2005 report that
judged the Iranian leadership was "determined to develop nuclear weapons despite
its international obligations and international pressure."
But the latest report also said Iran could reverse
that decision and eventually produce a nuclear weapon if it wants to do so.
U.S. President George W. Bush said on Tuesday that
Iran was still a danger and urged the international community to impose
diplomatic pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear program.
"To me, the NIE provides an opportunity for us to
rally the international community, to continue to rally the community, to
pressure the Iranian regime to suspend its program," he said.
"I still feel strongly that Iran is a danger," Bush
said. "I think the NIE makes it clear that Iran needs to be taken seriously as a
threat to peace."
He again refused to rule out military options against
Iran, saying "the best diplomacy, effective diplomacy, is one in which all
options are on the table."
The report came amid widespread reports that the Bush
administration is attempting to maneuver the United States into a conflict with
Iran.
The United States has long accused Iran of secretly
developing nuclear weapons, but Iran has insisted its nuclear program is
strictly aimed at producing electricity.
Bush insists Iran's nuclear program remains
dangerous
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W.
Bush insisted Tuesday that Iran remained a danger and military options were
still on the table one day after a U.S. intelligence report said Tehran halted
its nuclear weapons program in 2003.
"The best diplomacy, effective diplomacy, is one in
which all options are on the table," Bush said at a White House news
conference. Full story
Report: U.S. intelligence report a
blow to Bush's Tehran policy
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The
latest U.S. intelligence report, which says that Iran stopped work on a
suspected nuclear weapons program more than four years ago, has come as a huge
blow to the White House's Iran policy, the Washington Post said Tuesday.
The latest National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), the
formal consensus of all 16 U.S. spy agencies, said Monday that Iran halted its
nuclear weapons program in 2003, a stark reversal of previous intelligence
assessments that Iran was actively moving toward a bomb. Full story
U.S. report: Iran ceases to work on
nukes in 2003
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Iran
halted work toward a nuclear weapon in 2003 and is unlikely to be able to
produce enough enriched uranium for a bomb until 2010 to 2015, according to a
new U.S. intelligence report.
A declassified summary of the latest National
Intelligence Estimate that came out Monday, found with "high confidence" that
the Iran stopped an effort to develop nuclear weapons in the fall of 2003.
Full story
Iranian president: nuclear issue
closed
DOHA, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad said here on Monday that the disputed Iranian nuclear issue was
"closed" from Iran's perspective and that his country had the right to develop
new energy.
Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the
28th annual summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Ahmadinejad said "In
our opinion, the nuclear issue is now closed." Full story
