Iran's foreign minister on Tuesday welcomed a U.S. intelligence report that casts significant doubt on the White House's claims Tehran is still seeking nuclear weapons through its nuclear enrichment program.
In a dramatic reversal from previous reports' conclusions, the latest U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report released on Monday said it believes "with high confidence" that Iran put its bid to build a nuclear bomb on hold in 2003. Tehran has insisted it never has sought nuclear weapons.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the report indicated it was becoming clear that Iran's enrichment program is for peaceful purposes.
Bush's national security advisor, Stephen Hadley, said the report was "good news" and showed the administration's hardline stance against Tehran was working.
But Bush's Democratic opposition in Congress called for a major overhaul of the United States' Iran policy in the wake of the report.
It is not the first time the Bush administration's selective declassification of intelligence estimates has been questioned. The White House released and frequently cited portions of a previous National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq prior to the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 that claimed Saddam Hussein's regime possessed weapons of mass destruction. That assertion proved false.
Full story
How will this impact the credibility of the White House on matters of foreign policy?
More...
In a dramatic reversal from previous reports' conclusions, the latest U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report released on Monday said it believes "with high confidence" that Iran put its bid to build a nuclear bomb on hold in 2003. Tehran has insisted it never has sought nuclear weapons.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the report indicated it was becoming clear that Iran's enrichment program is for peaceful purposes.
Bush's national security advisor, Stephen Hadley, said the report was "good news" and showed the administration's hardline stance against Tehran was working.
But Bush's Democratic opposition in Congress called for a major overhaul of the United States' Iran policy in the wake of the report.
It is not the first time the Bush administration's selective declassification of intelligence estimates has been questioned. The White House released and frequently cited portions of a previous National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq prior to the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 that claimed Saddam Hussein's regime possessed weapons of mass destruction. That assertion proved false.
Full story
How will this impact the credibility of the White House on matters of foreign policy?
More...