Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Iran is not yet 'nuclear capable': US defense chief
Yahoo!
My Yahoo!
Mail
More Yahoo! Services
Account Options
New User? Sign Up
Sign In
Help
Yahoo! Search
web search
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Africa
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America
Iran is not yet 'nuclear capable': US defense chief
AFP - Monday, April 12
Send
IM Story
Print
Iranian technicians remove a container of radioactive uranium from the Isfahan nuclear facility in 2005. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that Iran is not on the threshold of producing a nuclear weapon and that its program was progressing slower than Tehran expected.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - – US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday that Iran is not on the threshold of producing a nuclear weapon and that its program was progressing slower than Tehran expected.
"I'd just say, and it's our judgement here, they are not nuclear capable," Gates said in an interview. "Not yet."
Speaking to NBC's "Meet the Press," Gates said that Iran was "continuing to make progress" in a nuclear program that Washington suspects is a clandestine effort to develop an atomic arsenal.
"It's going slower... than they anticipated. But they are moving in that direction," he said.
Asked to compare the danger posed by Iran armed with an atomic bomb or with the ability to produce one, Gates said: "How far have they gone? If their policy is to go (to) the threshold, but not assemble a nuclear weapon, how do you tell that they have not assembled?
"So, it becomes a serious verification question."
The Pentagon chief also denied that the US administration was resigned to Iran becoming a nuclear-armed power.
"We have not... drawn that conclusion at all. And in fact, we're doing everything we can to try and keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons," he said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who appeared along with Gates on television political talk shows, argued that Washington's "patience" had helped build international support for sanctions against Iran.
Clinton told NBC that "what we have found over the last months, because of our strategic patience, and our willingness to keep on this issue, is that countries are finally saying, 'You know, I kind of get it ... they're the ones who shut the door, and now we have to do something.'"
Clinton and Gates said a new arms control deal with Russia and a revised US nuclear policy would bolster President Barack Obama's diplomatic efforts to isolate Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programs.
In a policy shift, the Obama administration said on Tuesday it would only use atomic weapons in "extreme circumstances" and would not attack non-nuclear states that complied with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
But Washington singled out Iran and North Korea as exceptions, saying all options remained open if those governments defied UN resolutions.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reacted by accusing Obama on Sunday of threatening a "nuclear attack" on Iran, as Tehran said it will mass produce speedier centrifuges for its controversial uranium enrichment program.
Khamenei, the commander-in-chief of Iran's armed forces and final decision maker on key policy issues, told a meeting of the military's top brass that Obama "has implicitly threatened Iranians with nuclear weapons," state television quoted Khamenei as saying.
Western governments are working to forge a consensus at the UN Security Council on new punitive sanctions to force Iran to comply with international demands to freeze uranium enrichment.
China has agreed to join five other major powers for more talks on a fourth set of UN sanctions against Iran, easing its earlier opposition.
Recommend
Send
IM Story
Print
Related Articles
Europe agrees $40 bln Greece rescue deal AFP - Monday, April 12
UK-World Summary Reuters - Monday, April 12
Polish president's coffin returns home to Warsaw Reuters - Monday, April 12
Security blankets Washington as nuclear summit looms AFP - Monday, April 12
Eurozone could lend Greece $40 bln: Juncker AFP - Monday, April 12
News Search
Top Stories
'All bets are off' if US under WMD attack: Clinton
New clouds form over UN climate strategy
Discovery astronauts undertake second spacewalk
Greece to raise fresh loans, hopes EU seals debt plan
Australian teen on course for sailing record
More Top Stories »
ADVERTISEMENT
Most Popular
Most Viewed
Most Recommended
American teen aims for Everest record
Two-million-year-old hominid sheds light on evolution
Taiwan's male 'Susan Boyle' a web sensation
IMF chief plays down raising inflation targets
McCoy breaks Grand National jinx on Don't Push It
More Most Viewed »
'Rare' fossil of new dinosaur species found in US
Two-million-year-old hominid sheds light on evolution
Taiwan's male 'Susan Boyle' a web sensation
Junkies and junk-food addicts share craving mechanism
Toad is a telltale for impending quakes: scientists
More Most Recommended »
Elsewhere on Yahoo!
Financial news on Yahoo! Finance
Stars and latest movies
Best travel destinations
More on Yahoo! News
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Subscribe to our news feeds
Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS
» More news feeds | What are news feeds?
Also on Yahoo
Answers
Groups
Mail
Messenger
Mobile
Travel
Finance
Movies
Sports
Games
» All Yahoo! Services
Site Highlights
Singapore
Full Coverage
Most Popular
Asia Entertainment
Photos
World Cup 2010
Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Service |
Privacy Policy |
Community |
Intellectual Property Rights Policy |
Help
Other News on Monday, 12 April 2010 Israeli groups decry army West Bank deportation rules
Europe agrees $40 bln Greece rescue deal
News
Iran's Khamenei slams Obama over 'nuclear threat'
Iraq PM's bloc says fraud may have cost it 750,000 votes
Hungary's Fidesz wins election with strong mandate
|
British campaigners threaten pope with arrest
|
Greek police arrest suspected leftist guerrillas
|
Brazil flood death toll rises to 224: officials
|
Drug gangs kill nine in Honduras as violence grows
|
Ousted Kyrgyz leader: I'm not to blame for deaths
Security blankets Washington as nuclear summit looms
Ousted Kyrgyz leader: not to blame for bloodshed
'All bets are off' if US under WMD attack: Clinton
News
Iran is not yet 'nuclear capable': US defense chief
Afghan president urges Taliban to air grievances
Thai protesters reject talks after deadly clashes
Kyrgyz leader: no guarantees for ousted ruler
News
Airstrikes kill 10 militants in NW Pakistan
Australian officials seek to protect reef
Colorado Sheriff's Deputy Tazes 30 Students; Gets Suspended
Date Night ekes out disputed box office win
|
News
Polish president's coffin returns home to Warsaw
|
News
Thai protesters gather after clashes hit markets
|
Kyrgyz interim government says to move against Bakiyev
|
Yemen says seeks cleric, yet to get U.S. intelligence
|
Pakistani forces kill up to 40 militants in Orakzai
|
NATO troops kill 4 Afghans on bus: provincial official
|
Fidesz wins Hungary election with strong mandate
|
Russia cast as nuclear security leader despite flaws
|
US-TECH Summary
Euro rises as markets back Greek rescue deal
Obama Meets India's Singh; Headley Issue Raises Controversy
China 3G standard phone sales to surge
|
Obama Cites Al Qaeda With Nuclear Weapons As Biggest Threat
Sharp to launch 3D TVs this summer
|
Google CEO: Tech silence in China spat no shock
|
Ex-Obama adviser calls on FCC to reclassify Web access: report
|
Google CEO says Apple helped AdMob deal
|
Smartphone maker Palm is seeking a buyer: report
|
News
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
News
Hollywood gripped by baby fever
|
Titans tops foreign box office again
|
Conan begins comedy tour as Fox talks drag on
|
ESPN's Allen Iverson documentary holds few surprises
|
Pop star Shakira prepares to build school in Haiti
|
News
New Zealand house prices rise in March
Top anti-racism judge shot dead in Moscow
Nine dead after landslide derails Italian train
Nine dead after Italian train derailment
Sudan extends voting for two days after delays
|
Afghan fury after US troops kill four civilians
Bomb explodes outside MI5 headquarters in Northern Ireland
|
Polish relatives seek to identify Russia crash victims
Attacks in Kandahar; NATO fires on Afghan bus
|
Moscow judge who sentenced neo-fascists shot dead
|
Greece charges six over guerrilla attacks
|
Sudanese opposition urge elections cancelled
Nine dead as landslide derails Italian train
|
Thai poll body says ruling party must be dissolved
200,000 civilians flee Pakistan military offensive
UBS reports 2.5 bln francs in quarterly pre-tax profit
Greek debt plan boosts euro, most Asian shares
Al-Qaeda would use nuclear bomb on US: Obama
China's Geely Auto 2009 net profit up 35%
China's foreign reserves hit new high
Paramount offers movies on Seagate hard drives
|
Obama to open landmark nuclear summit
Best Buy to sell Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader
|
Bangladesh sentences 50 guards over 2009 mutiny
Kyrgyzstan's deposed president gathers supporters
Sharp to join 3D TV battle with advanced display
|
Pressure mounts on Thai PM after election body call
Global IT spending to rise
|
Afghan official says NATO gunfire kills 4 on bus
Australia refloats Barrier Reef oil spill ship
Ship that leaked oil on Great Barrier Reef removed
Australian in Bali prison applies for clemency
Thai stocks sink after deadly Bangkok clashes
Afghan official: 4 civilians killed by NATO troops
Rusal reports $821 million profit
China bank lending down 43 percent in 1st quarter
China says forex reserves hit record $2.447 trln
India's industrial output sees double-digit growth
Sharp to launch 3D televisions by summer
Iraq Urged to Lift Media Restrictions
IATA chief urges Japan to be China travel gateway
Romney Wins Presidential Straw Poll By A Hair
Mandy Moore To Check In To Greys Anatomy Finale
GM China: Sales by 2015 may exceed 3M units
Motorcyclist Flees Police, Crashes Into Ambulance Crew That Treats Him
Teen Birth Rates Down In U.S.
Researchers Say Hispanics Live In Areas With Limited Ability To Screen For Colon Cancer
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Dozens Hurt In 7-Alarm Manhattan Fire
President Obama Meets Kazak President Nazarbayev
President Obama Meets Pakistani PM Gilani, Mentions His Trip Sans Secret Service
British band Supergrass announces split
|
Tenor Domingo speaks of cancer fear ahead of return
|
Date Night ekes out disputed box office win
|
Russell Crowe drops tights for Robin Hood
|
DreamWorks rolls out Kung Fu Panda virtual world
|
Taiwan's 'Susan Boyle' voted off talent show
India hopes mud-pit wrestling can lead to gold
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Russell Crowe drops tights for "Robin Hood"
DreamWorks rolls out "Kung Fu Panda" virtual world
Hollywood gripped by baby fever
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights