Revised NIE: Iran's program continuing

The Jerusalem Post ^ | 1/20/2010 | JPost.com Staff

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

US spy agencies evaluate that Iran has accelerated its research into creating a nuclear weapon but has yet to restart its program in full, Reuters quoted US officials as saying on Wednesday.

The new estimate comes as the American intelligence community is putting the finishing touches on a revised National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) that was published near the end of the George W. Bush administration and that was out of line with European countries' estimates, as well as Israel's.

Back in 2007, the NIE assessed that Iran had put its atomic bomb program on hold since 2003.

Israel immediately rejected that assessment, while French and German intelligence also saw the estimate as misreading Iran's intentions.

But an unnamed official quoted by Reuters ahead of the revision said that while some of the NIE's conclusions needed updating, the changes would be nuanced.

"Basically, we're talking about research (resuming) - not about the Iranians barreling full steam ahead on a bomb program." he said "When you're looking at the Iranian nuclear program, nuance matters."

According to the report, it is not yet certain whether the revision of the NIE will be made public.

The news comes a day after Iran officially rejected the West's proposal to ship out its uranium and receive it back in the form of fuel rods that can be used to power nuclear reactors used for peaceful purposes, but not for producing weapons.

Iran insists that its program is intended to produce energy and for medical uses.

According to the proposal, Russia would receive Iran's uranium, while France would turn it into rods and ship it back to the country.

[SJackson]

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