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U.S. Considers a New Assessment of Iran Threat

[Wall Street Journal] Siobhan Gorman and Jay Solomon - U.S. spy agencies are considering whether to rewrite a controversial 2007 intelligence report that asserted Tehran halted its efforts to build nuclear weapons in 2003 after a string of recent revelations about Tehran's nuclear program, current and former U.S. intelligence officials say. German, French and British intelligence agencies have all disputed the conclusions of the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) in recent months. A senior U.S. intelligence official said the spy agencies "have a lot more information since we last did" a national intelligence estimate. "At some point in the near future, our analytic community is going to want to press the reset button on our judgments on intent and weaponization in light of [the secret enrichment plant at] Qom and other information we're receiving." Any timeline for negotiations could be shortened if a new NIE concludes Tehran has restarted its atomic-weapons work, officials said. The White House could also use a new report to galvanize wider international support for sanctions against Tehran.
2009-10-16 06:00:00
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