U.S.: Iran halted nuke program in 2003

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A new estimate by U.S. intelligence says Iran halted its nuclear bomb program in 2003, but adds Tehran "is keeping open the option to develop" such weapons.

The estimate, in a report compiled by the National Intelligence Council, represents the consensus view of 16 U.S. spy agencies. It revises a 2005 assessment that said Tehran was planning to create a nuclear device.

The estimate's key judgments were declassified and posted Monday on Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell's Web site.

"Our assessment that the program probably was halted primarily in response to international pressure suggests Iran may be more vulnerable to influence on the issue than we judged previously," the report says.

It says Iran's decisions about the program appeared to be "guided by a cost-benefit approach rather than a rush to a weapon irrespective of the political, economic and military costs."

The report says if Iran ends the freeze on its weapons program, it will need at least two years, and as many as eight, to manufacture enough weapons-grade uranium to produce a nuclear bomb.