WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told Congress Tuesday Iran is "keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons," but the U.S. intelligence community doesn't know if Iran will eventually build such weapons.
In a written testimony to Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Blair said Iran is keeping the possibility alive by developing various nuclear capabilities that "bring it closer to being able to produce such weapons, should it choose to do so."
He said Iran has installed significantly more centrifuges in its Natanz enrichment plant, with the number of centrifuges there growing from about 3,000 in late 2007 to over 8,000 currently installed.
He said Iran has stockpiled in that same time period approximately 1,800 kilograms of low-enriched uranium. However, according to information from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran appears to be experiencing problems at Natanz as it's only operating about half of the installed centrifuges, constraining its overall ability to produce larger quantities of low-enriched uranium.
Blair also noted Iran's second uranium enrichment plant deep under a mountain near the city of Qom, which it had been building secretly until last September. He said whether Iran's motivations for building this facility go beyond its publicly claimed intent to preserve enrichment know-how if attacked is "unclear to us," voicing concerns about some of its design features.
Blair said the intelligence community judge Iran's nuclear decision-making is guided by a cost-benefit approach, offering the international community opportunities to influence it.
Iran has repeatedly said its nuclear program is for civilian use only, but the United States remains skeptical, and is threatening to pursue a "pressure track" if Iran refuses to engage with the international community on its nuclear program.
