Nuclear plant in Bushehr
Photo: AP
Iran would need 3-8 yrs to produce bomb - IAEA chief
'I want to get people away from the idea that Iran will be a threat from tomorrow,' says Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the UN's nuclear watchdog agency
Iran would need three to eight years to produce a nuclear bomb, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog said in an interview published on Monday.
Bush Administration
Associated Press
US vice president says Iran 'continues to practice delay and deceit in an obvious effort to buy time'
"I cannot judge their intentions, but supposing that Iran does intend to acquire a nuclear bomb, it would need between another three and eight years to succeed," Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told France's Le Monde newspaper.
"All the intelligence services agree on that," he said.
ElBaradei said force should be used only when all diplomatic options have failed, adding there was plenty of time for diplomacy, sanctions, dialogue and incentives to bear fruit.
"I want to get people away from the idea that Iran will be a threat from tomorrow, and that we are faced right now with the issue of whether Iran should be bombed or allowed to have the bomb," the Nobel peace prize winner said.
"We are not at all in that situation. Iraq is a glaring example of how, in many cases, the use of force exacerbates the problem rather than solving it."
Also on Monday, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Arab nations not to take part in the Annapolis peace conference.
Ahmadinejad warned the Arab nations "not to fall into the Israeli trap," adding that Israel and the US might try to "take advantage" of the states attending the peace conference.
