http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071203/ts_nm/iran_usa_dc



  Report contradicts Bush on Iran nuclear program



By Matt Spetalnick 15 minutes ago



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new U.S. intelligence report

says Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003

and it remains on hold, contradicting the Bush

administration's earlier assertion that Tehran was

intent on developing a bomb.



The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) released on

Monday could undermine U.S. efforts to convince other

world powers to agree on a third package of U.N.

sanctions against Iran for defying demands to halt

uranium enrichment activities.



Tensions have escalated in recent months as Washington

has ratcheted up the rhetoric against Tehran, with

U.S. President George W. Bush insisting in October

that a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to World War

Three.



But in a finding likely to surprise U.S. friends and

foes alike, the latest NIE concluded: "We do not know

whether (Iran) currently intends to develop nuclear

weapons."



That marked a sharp contrast to an intelligence report

two years ago that stated Iran was "determined to

develop nuclear weapons."



But the new assessment found Iran was continuing to

develop technical means that could be used to build a

bomb and it would likely be capable of producing

enough enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon "sometime

during the 2010-2015 time-frame."



The shift in the intelligence community's thinking on

Iran comes five years after a flawed NIE concluded

neighboring Iraq was developing weapons of mass

destruction -- a report that helped pave the way for

the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.



No nuclear, chemical or biological weapons were ever

found in Iraq and intelligence agencies since have

been more cautious about Iran's nuclear ambitions.



Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, who have

repeatedly accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons,

were briefed on the new NIE last Wednesday.



Washington, which insists it wants to solve the Iran

problem diplomatically while leaving military options

"on the table," is pushing for tougher U.N. sanctions

against Tehran but faces resistance from China and

Russia.



Iran insists it wants nuclear technology only for

civilian purposes, such as electricity generation.



The nuclear standoff has become a major issue in the

2008 U.S. presidential campaign, with candidates

weighing in on the prospects for military action

against Iran.



U.S. STILL SEES IRANIAN "RISK"



Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, among senior

Democrats who had requested the updated report on

Iran, said the assessment challenged some of the

administration's "alarming rhetoric about the threat

posed by Iran."



He and other critics had accused Bush trying to rush

the country into war again based on faulty

intelligence.



Bush's national security adviser said that on balance

the report was "good news," insisting it showed Tehran

was susceptible to international pressure but that the

risk of it acquiring nuclear weapons "remains a very

serious problem."



But he added: "The international community has to

understand that if we want to avoid a situation where

we either have to accept Iran on a road to a nuclear

weapon ... or the possibility of having to use force

to stop it with all the connotations of World War III,

then we need to step up the diplomacy, step up the

pressure."



Administration officials denied the new NIE had

exposed a serious intelligence lapse but could not

explain how agencies failed to detect for four years

that Iran's nuclear weapons program had been halted.



Intelligence officials said the suspension involved

design and engineering for a bomb and covert

uranium-conversion work.



A key NIE finding was that: "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."



Still, the report said: "We also assess with

moderate-to-high confidence that Tehran at a minimum

is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons."