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WASHINGTON-President George W. Bush Tuesday said Iran was still a danger and refused to take military options off the table, despite a US intelligence report saying it had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003."The best diplomacy, effective diplomacy, is one in which all options are on the table," Bush said in a White House news conference."Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."And the president called on US partners abroad to step up pressure on Iran over the nuclear issue."The best way to ensure that the world is peaceful in the future is for the international community to continue to work together to say to the Iranians we are going to isolate you.""I still feel strongly that Iran is a danger."Bush warned that Iran was still trying to learn how to enrich uranium, which he said was an important step towards developing a nuclear weapon."I think it is very important for the international community to recognize the fact that if Iran were to develop the knowledge that they could transfer to a clandestine program, it would create a danger to the world.""I view this report as a warning signal."A US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), released on Monday, said that Iran halted its nuclear weapons drive in 2003 and that US charges about Tehran's atomic goals have been overblown for at least two years. The consensus view of all 16 US spy agencies, the report said that Iran appeared "less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005."It concluded that "the programme probably was halted primarily in response to international pressure (which) suggests that Iran may be more vulnerable to influence on the issue than we judged previously.Iran welcomed the report, saying the study undermined accusations by Bush against Tehran.A senior official of the UN nuclear watchdog, which has been investigating the Iranian nuclear programme for the past four years, said the report confirmed its assessment that Tehran represents "no imminent danger."Ahead of the report's release, Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States had been discussing US-led calls for a new Security Council sanctions resolution against Tehran which has refused to heed UN demands to suspend uranium enrichment.Despite an intensive four-year investigation, the IAEA has been unable to confirm if the Iranian nuclear drive is peaceful or aimed at making nuclear weapons.Iran denies Western charges that it seeks nuclear weapons and insists that its research is solely aimed at producing energy for civilian use.The UN Security Council has passed two sanctions resolutions against Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment and Washington recently slapped unilateral sanctions on Iran.As in the days of Noah...
