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http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/U.S.:_Iran_nukes/2007/12/03/54129.html
U.S.: Iran Can, But May Not Be Making Nukes
Monday, December 3, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Iran halted its nuclear weapons development program in the
fall of 2003 under international pressure but is continuing to enrich
uranium, which means it may still be able to develop a weapon between 2010
and 2015, senior intelligence officials said Monday.
That finding, in a new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, is a change
from two years ago, when U.S. intelligence agencies believed Tehran was
determined to develop a nuclear capability and was continuing its weapons
development program. It suggests that Iran is susceptible to diplomatic
pressure, the officials said.
''Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less
determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since
2005,'' states the unclassified summary of the secret report, released
Monday.
Officials said the new findings suggest that diplomacy has been effective in
containing Iran's nuclear ambitions, although President Bush's national
security adviser, Stephen Hadley, said the risk of Iran acquiring a nuclear
weapon remains '' a serious problem.''
The estimate suggests that Bush ''has the right strategy: intensified
international pressure along with a willingness to negotiate a solution that
serves Iranian interests, while ensuring that the world will never have to
face a nuclear armed Iran,'' Hadley said.
The finding comes at a time of escalating tensions between the United States
and Iran, which Bush has labeled part of an ''axis of evil,'' along with
Iraq and North Korea. At an Oct. 17 news conference, Bush said ''if you're
interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be
interested in preventing them (Iran) from having the knowledge necessary to
make a nuclear weapon.''
The halt to active weapons development is one of the key judgments of the
latest NIE on Iran's nuclear program. National Intelligence Estimates
represent the most authoritative written judgments of all 16 U.S. spy
agencies.
Despite the suspension of its weapons program, Tehran may ultimately be
difficult to dissuade from developing a nuclear bomb because Iran believes
such a weapon would give it leverage to achieve its national security and
foreign policy goals, the assessment concluded.
''The bottom line is this: for that strategy to succeed, the international
community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation,
United Nations sanctions, and with other financial pressure and Iran has to
decide it wants to negotiate a solution,'' Hadley said.
Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell decided last month that the
key judgments of NIEs should as a rule not be declassified and released. The
intelligence officials said an exception was made in this case because the
last assessment of Iran's nuclear program in 2005 has been influential in
public debate about U.S. policy toward Iran, and needed to be updated to
reflect the latest findings.
To develop a nuclear weapon, Iran needs a warhead design, a certain amount
of fissile material, and a delivery vehicle such as a missile. The
intelligence agencies now believe Iran halted design work four years ago and
as of mid-2007 had not restarted it.
But Iran is continuing to enrich uranium for its civilian nuclear reactors.
That leaves open the possibility the fissile material could be diverted to
covert nuclear sites to make enough highly enriched uranium to make a bomb.
The amount of fissile material Iran has is closely linked to when it can
produce a weapon. Even if the country went all out with present enrichment
capability, it is unlikely to have enough until 2010 at the earliest, the
officials said. The State Department's Intelligence and Research office
believes the earliest likely time it would have enough highly enriched
uranium would be 2013. But all agencies concede Iran may not have sufficient
enriched uranium until after 2015.
Iran would not be capable of technically producing and reprocessing enough
plutonium for a weapon before about 2015, the report states. But ultimately
it has the technical and industrial capacity to build a bomb, ''if it
decides to do so,'' the intelligence agencies found.
This national intelligence estimate was originally due in the spring of 2007
but was delayed because the agencies wanted more confidence their findings
were accurate, given the problems with a 2002 intelligence estimate of
Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program. They also got a late influx of
new data that caused changes in their findings.
''There was a very rigorous scrub using all the tradecraft available, using
the lessons of 2002,'' said a senior intelligence official, speaking on
condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity.
U.S.: Iran Can, But May Not Be Making Nukes
Monday, December 3, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Iran halted its nuclear weapons development program in the
fall of 2003 under international pressure but is continuing to enrich
uranium, which means it may still be able to develop a weapon between 2010
and 2015, senior intelligence officials said Monday.
That finding, in a new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, is a change
from two years ago, when U.S. intelligence agencies believed Tehran was
determined to develop a nuclear capability and was continuing its weapons
development program. It suggests that Iran is susceptible to diplomatic
pressure, the officials said.
''Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less
determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since
2005,'' states the unclassified summary of the secret report, released
Monday.
Officials said the new findings suggest that diplomacy has been effective in
containing Iran's nuclear ambitions, although President Bush's national
security adviser, Stephen Hadley, said the risk of Iran acquiring a nuclear
weapon remains '' a serious problem.''
The estimate suggests that Bush ''has the right strategy: intensified
international pressure along with a willingness to negotiate a solution that
serves Iranian interests, while ensuring that the world will never have to
face a nuclear armed Iran,'' Hadley said.
The finding comes at a time of escalating tensions between the United States
and Iran, which Bush has labeled part of an ''axis of evil,'' along with
Iraq and North Korea. At an Oct. 17 news conference, Bush said ''if you're
interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be
interested in preventing them (Iran) from having the knowledge necessary to
make a nuclear weapon.''
The halt to active weapons development is one of the key judgments of the
latest NIE on Iran's nuclear program. National Intelligence Estimates
represent the most authoritative written judgments of all 16 U.S. spy
agencies.
Despite the suspension of its weapons program, Tehran may ultimately be
difficult to dissuade from developing a nuclear bomb because Iran believes
such a weapon would give it leverage to achieve its national security and
foreign policy goals, the assessment concluded.
''The bottom line is this: for that strategy to succeed, the international
community has to turn up the pressure on Iran with diplomatic isolation,
United Nations sanctions, and with other financial pressure and Iran has to
decide it wants to negotiate a solution,'' Hadley said.
Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell decided last month that the
key judgments of NIEs should as a rule not be declassified and released. The
intelligence officials said an exception was made in this case because the
last assessment of Iran's nuclear program in 2005 has been influential in
public debate about U.S. policy toward Iran, and needed to be updated to
reflect the latest findings.
To develop a nuclear weapon, Iran needs a warhead design, a certain amount
of fissile material, and a delivery vehicle such as a missile. The
intelligence agencies now believe Iran halted design work four years ago and
as of mid-2007 had not restarted it.
But Iran is continuing to enrich uranium for its civilian nuclear reactors.
That leaves open the possibility the fissile material could be diverted to
covert nuclear sites to make enough highly enriched uranium to make a bomb.
The amount of fissile material Iran has is closely linked to when it can
produce a weapon. Even if the country went all out with present enrichment
capability, it is unlikely to have enough until 2010 at the earliest, the
officials said. The State Department's Intelligence and Research office
believes the earliest likely time it would have enough highly enriched
uranium would be 2013. But all agencies concede Iran may not have sufficient
enriched uranium until after 2015.
Iran would not be capable of technically producing and reprocessing enough
plutonium for a weapon before about 2015, the report states. But ultimately
it has the technical and industrial capacity to build a bomb, ''if it
decides to do so,'' the intelligence agencies found.
This national intelligence estimate was originally due in the spring of 2007
but was delayed because the agencies wanted more confidence their findings
were accurate, given the problems with a 2002 intelligence estimate of
Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program. They also got a late influx of
new data that caused changes in their findings.
''There was a very rigorous scrub using all the tradecraft available, using
the lessons of 2002,'' said a senior intelligence official, speaking on
condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity.
