I just heard again from the Bush admin talking about an Iranian nuclear weapons program. Yet, there is no concrete evidence of any nuclear weapons program. Now they want to go to war over an intuition?

The Chief of the IAEA Mohamed elbaradei has said there is no evidence! The rhetoric coming from the administration is reminiscent of 2002!

quote:

No evidence Iran is making nuclear weapons: ElBaradei Washington October 30, 2007 Advertisement CHIEF UN atomic regulator Mohamed ElBaradei says he has no evidence that Iran is building nuclear weapons and has accused US leaders of adding "fuel to the fire" with recent rhetoric. "I have not received any information that there is a concrete active nuclear weapons program," the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency told CNN. "At this stage we need to continue to work through creative diplomacy." The White House on Friday rejected parallels between its Iran rhetoric and the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. AFP

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AFX News Limited No evidence Iran is making nuclear weapons: ElBaradei 10.28.07, 11:50 AM ET LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Chief UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei said he had no evidence that Iran is actively building nuclear weapons, despite recent bellicose rhetoric from US leaders. 'I haven't received any information that there is a concrete active nuclear weapons program right now,' the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency told CNN, warning that US threats would only add 'fuel to the fire.'

Meanwhile, the Israeli media claim the IAEA and its chief are mere stooges of Iran... Seems to me Israel has a bigger neocon problem than we have here in the US..

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Nov 5, 2007 20:50 | Updated Nov 5, 2007 21:05 Analysis: Why are the IAEA and ElBaradei protecting Iran? By GERALD M. STEINBERG, JERUSALEM CENTER FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS The evidence that Iran is making progress towards acquiring nuclear weapons is staring everyone in the face: the banks of centrifuges from A.Q. Khan's proliferation supermarket (used by Pakistan for its bomb) and other technology inappropriate for a civil power program; the subterfuge that kept these and other activities from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors for many years; the import of components and evidence of facilities for testing weapons design. For over three years, the quarterly IAEA reports on Iran contained details of violations, obstruction of inspector's visits, important inconsistencies between official claims and the results of tests from samples taken from various facilities and other forms of non-compliance. But the final assessment in each report, signed by the director-general, absurdly concluded that this evidence did not demonstrate that Iran was seeking nuclear weapons. Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, may have chosen what he saw as the path of least resistance by acquiescing to Iran's aspirations to become a nuclear power. This was also the dominant view in Europe, at least until the rise of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the realization that stable deterrence based on the US-Soviet Cold War model was not applicable to a nuclear-armed Iran. ElBaradei's complicity in the Iranian effort to acquire nuclear weapons is counterproductive. The further that Iran advances, the higher the probability of confrontation and military action in the next two-to-four years. Instead, if the IAEA and ElBaradei were to join in the effort to warn and deter the Iranian regime, it might still be possible to halt the uranium enrichment and similar activities without needing to use force.

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On the Iranian side...

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ElBaradei's report on Iran basis for any judgment: Kouchner ISTANBUL (IRNA) -- The upcoming report by the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Iran's peaceful nuclear activities would be the basis for making any judgment about the issue, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Friday evening. He made the remarks in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Manuchehr Mottaki, on the sidelines of a conference on Iraq. The conference opened here late Friday with the participation of foreign ministers of Iraq's neighboring states including Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan chaired the meeting. The participants were to further discuss the situation in Iraq in a meeting with five permanent member states of the UN Security Council as well as the G8 member states on Saturday. The Istanbul conference on Iraq is the second of its kind after a first gathering in Egypt in May. It aims to boost global support for efforts to end daily bloodshed in the war-torn country. Stressing Tehran's right to have peaceful nuclear energy, Kouchner said that Paris would confirm the report which is due to be released later in November by Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei. If ElBaradei's report indicates there is no concern over Iran peaceful nuclear activities, they will confirm it too, said the French minister. Mottaki and Chouchner also discussed issues related to bilateral ties, regional developments, and the situation in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine. Appreciating Tehran's support for Lebanon, Kouchner voiced willingness to visit Iran.

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