VIENNA, June 2 (UPI) -- The United States' top intelligence official told the BBC that Iran is "determined" to have nuclear weapons and could be so armed by 2010.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte was interviewed Friday by the British broadcaster after it was announced that several countries, including the United Kingdom, had out together incentives to convince Iran to stop its nuclear program.
Iran, whose leaders have said the country has a sovereign right to develop nuclear technology, says the program is for peaceful purposes. Some Western countries claim the Iranians are trying to develop nuclear weapons.
Negroponte told the BBC that Iran "seems to be determined to develop nuclear weapons."
"We don't have a clear-cut knowledge but the estimate we have made is some time between the beginning of the next decade and the middle of the next decade they might be in a position to have a nuclear weapon, which is a cause of great concern," he said in the interview.
Negroponte said that was a concern because the United States considers Iran a state sponsor of terrorism.
