Iran not pursuing nuclear weapons

WHITE HOUSE (AP) — Tuesday the government of Iran said “I told you so.” Tehran was beaming over Monday’s report from US intelligence saying Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons.

That bluntly contradicts what the administration has said for years.

The intelligence community reversed its position on Iran’s nuclear pursuits saying — contrary to its last report two years ago — the country is not creating nuclear weapons.

But that’s not enough to change the president’s mind. President Bush says now is not the time to take pressure off Iran.

Bush says Tehran is still dangerous despite new intelligence conclusions that it stopped work on a nuclear bomb four years ago. He says the report is a warning signal that Iran could regear the program any time.

But in its own reaction to the new report, Iran says it welcomes the U.S. decision to “correct” its view.

The new U.S intelligence report says Iran’s nuclear weapons program was halted because of international pressure in 2003. It’s a sharp turnaround from a 2005 report that stated was Iran was continuing its weapons development program.

In October, President Bush alluded to “World War III” when talking about the importance of preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.