In about turn, U.S. says Iran may be able to make nukes by 2009
By Amir Oren, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service Last update -
22:15 05/02/2008
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/951486.html

The head of American intelligence said Tuesday that it is unclear whether
Tehran has returned to its production of nuclear weapons in the past six
months, and warned that Iran "would be technically capable of producing
enough highly enriched uranium for a weapon" by the end of next year.

Speaking two months after an American intelligence report cast doubt on
Tehran's nuclear ambitions, National Intelligence Director John Michael
McConnell made his remarks during an appearance before the Senate
Intelligence Committee to present an annual report on threats to the U.S.

A National Intelligence Estimate report released in December said that Iran
halted its nuclear weapons development program in the fall of 2003.

"We remain concerned about Iran's intentions and assess with
moderate-to-high confidence that Tehran at a minimum is keeping open the
option to develop nuclear weapons," the report said.

"We assess with high confidence that Iran has the scientific, technical and
industrial capacity eventually to produce nuclear weapons," it said, adding
that the only realistic way to prevent Iran from producing such weapons was
"an Iranian political decision to abandon a nuclear weapons objective."

McConnell expressed skepticism at the ability of Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement to deliver security for Israel and to
overcome Hamas' efforts to stymie the political process.

He said that despite pressures on Hamas, "the group remains fairly unified,
especially its military wing, and in charge in the Gaza Strip where it
controls all PA facilities. Hamas continues to curtail freedoms and to
harass Fatah members."

McConnell said however, that the U.S. recognizes signs of Fatah's progress
in the West Bank, praising "renewed security and law enforcement cooperation
with Israeli forces in taking more effective action against Hamas."

There was no mention in the report of the Israel Air Force attack on Syria
in September 2007, which foreign news sources have speculated was a strike
on a nuclear facility built with North Korean assistance. He said, however,
that North Korea, which has sold ballistic missiles to Iran and other Middle
Eastern countries, could "proliferate nuclear weapons abroad."

The intelligence chief also estimated that Iran and Syria will boost their
support for Hezbollah, Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations. He
accused Syria and Hezbollah of interfering with the Lebanese presidential
elections.

He warned that rising tensions in Lebanon could result in a fresh civil war,
and the return to armed "militias" within the country.

"Many former militias in Lebanon are reconstituting, rearming, and
retraining their fighters," he said. "The increased political and sectarian
tension also raises the potential for civil war within the country."

In addition, McConnell raised the threat of Al-Qaida in Lebanon, maintaining
it continues to threaten the country's internal security.