(Agencies/Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-05 08:55

Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili speaks with journalists during a news conference at the International Imam Khomeini airport in south of Tehran December 5, 2007 after his trip to Russia. Jalili on Wednesday brushed off U.S. comments that Tehran was still a danger and said he hoped any future U.S. intelligence report would say Tehran's nuclear plans had always been peaceful. [Agencies]

Iran Welcomes US Intelligence Nuclear Report

Iranian officials on Tuesday welcomed a new US 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 US intelligence report as "positive and factual."

The report reflected the elaboration of 16 US intelligent services and confirmed that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and no violation is detected, Hosseini said.

Therefore, the previous claims of US 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 US intelligence report, said on Tuesday that Washington should "pay the price" for its accusations against Tehran.

"US 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 US 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 US 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 US 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.

US 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.

 

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