More evidence of Iran's nuclear fantasy

Bill Gertz:

U.S. intelligence agencies are convinced that Iran is working to build nuclear weapons in secret based on a confidential report produced last week by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and on information from a former Iranian opposition figure.
Administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the intelligence on the Iranian nuclear program is circumstantial, but includes information on the country's missile program and work on a nuclear payload-sized warhead for the Shahab-3 missile.
"In terms of Iran's pattern of behavior, it's a very clear picture that they are hiding and deceiving the world about their nuclear-arms program by claiming it is for peaceful purposes," one official said. "They have clearly lied, and they keep getting caught in one lie after another."
Documents from an Iranian laptop computer obtained from an Iranian source in 2004 are at the center of the intelligence case for Iran's nuclear-arms program.
The intelligence shows that from 2001 to 2003, Iran was working to configure the Shahab-3, a 620-mile-range mobile missile, to deliver a warhead that has all the physical characteristics of a nuclear warhead, in terms of its size and shape.
The documents show details about development work on nuclear weapons and design problems, but not all the papers are considered authentic.
However, the material reveals that the Iranians are involved in actual development work and not theoretical design.
"It proves that there is something more than a physics program, but it doesn't prove that there are weapons already," one official said.

...

Gregory L. Schulte, U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, said that the facts show Iran has a long record of lying, covering up and withholding data on its nuclear program and that the program is linked to the Iranian military.
He said Iran lacks deposits of natural uranium for fueling even a small-scale program to produce electrical power.
"The deposits are sufficient, however, to enrich into weapons-grade material for a sizable stockpile of nuclear weapons," Mr. Schulte said. "This is not the sign of a peaceful program."

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