Washington: President George W Bush today said Iran remains a danger and the recent US intelligence report is anything but "a warning that Tehran had a nuclear programme and they could restart it anytime".

The National Intelligence Estimate released yesterday cited that Tehran had halted its nuclear weapons programme in late 2003 and that the programme had not restarted as of mid-2007.

"I view this report as a warning signal that they had the programme, they halted the program. And the reason why it s a warning signal is that they could restart it," Bush said at the White House.

He asked the international community not to step down pressure in the wake of the report, which is actually a proof that "Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon". "They're trying to learn how to enrich uranium which is an important step to develop a weapon. If Iran were to develop the knowledge, they could transfer to a clandestine programme and create danger to the world," he warned.

"The NIE also said that international pressure was effective. The best diplomacy, effective diplomacy, is one in which all options are on the table," Bush added.
The President brushed aside the notion that American credibility is being called into question in the light of the latest NIE estimate on Iran and its previous assessment about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which later proved to be wrong.

Source : PTI