Ahmadinejad hails ‘great victory’ in US nuclear report

TEHRAN: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday boasted a report by US intelligence on the Iranian nuclear programme was a “great victory” for Iran, as US President George W Bush warned that Tehran remained a threat.

The report by the US intelligence community said Iran halted a drive for atomic weapons in 2003 while Bush had repeatedly accused Tehran in recent years of seeking to make a nuclear bomb. “You saw the report of the US intelligence. They said clearly that the Iranian people were on the just path,” Ahmadinejad said at a rally in Ilam province.

“This report tries to extract America from its impasse but it also is a declaration of victory for the Iranian people against the great powers,” he added. “It is the final blow for the enemies of Iran,” said Ahmadinejad.

The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) said that US allegations about Iran’s atomic goals had been overblown for at least two years,although it could have the capability to make a nuclear weapon by 2015. But Bush was adamant that the Islamic republic remained a threat to global security. He refused to rule out military action and called on US allies to step up pressure against Tehran.

“Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon,” he told a White House press conference, after the intelligence assessment was published on Monday.