IAEA leader sees high probability of Iranian nuclear program, if intel correct

Iran almost certainly has taken significant steps to build nuclear weapons, assuming that intelligence about its actions is authentic, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said yesterday. "If this information is real, there is a high probability that nuclear weaponization activities have taken place," he said,"but I should underline 'if' three times." ElBaradei emphasized his agency is "not in a state of panic" because international inspectors have witnessed neither nuclear-weapon components nor the diversion of nuclear material in Iran. Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, told Global Security Newswire, "ElBaradei is correct on both counts -- this is a deeply troubling capability and there is no need to panic." He said there is "strong circumstantial evidence that Iran in the past conducted some research on weaponization" but it remains unclear "how far they got."