. . .

QUESTION: By now, you've had a chance to review the latest IAEA report and you've seen that it states flatly that Iran continues to enrich uranium and therefore, is not in compliance with several UN Security Council resolutions. The report also stated that Iran has been forthcoming about some issues, but in particular, not about the so-called Green Salt project which involves experiments with high explosives, testing, and the design of a reentry vehicle. A Senior State Department Official who briefed reporters a short while ago said that the evidence on this particular aspect, the Green Salt issue, is extensive. And I wonder what you can say about the strength of this evidence in light of widespread questions about American intelligence in the aftermath of the Iraq WMD issue and the NIE. How strong is this Green Salt evidence?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I don't want to try to put words into the intelligence estimate or to make assessment. Let me just say that we are - we believe that there is very good reason, very good confidence in this information and that's why we've passed it on to - we've helped the IAEA with information about what has happened there.

But it's only one of three areas that I think the Iranians are still very lacking in. One is on this matter of weaponization and what has been happening in those covert programs and there need to be answers. Secondly, there's the question of the additional protocol which Iran has not yet signed and third, there is, of course, as you mentioned, the enrichment and reprocessing where not only is Iran continuing to defy, but they're apparently trying to enhance their activities on enrichment and reprocessing.

So there is very good reason after this report to proceed to a Security Council resolution, a third Security Council resolution. The basic elements have been already agreed among the six, but obviously, this now needs to be worked within the Security Council. That is what has happened. The British and the French have tabled a resolution, but I think that this report demonstrates that whatever the Iranians may be doing to try to clean up some elements of the past, it is inadequate given their current activities, given questions about their past activities, and given what we all have to worry about, which is the future in which Iran could start to perfect the technologies that could lead to a nuclear weapon. So I think this is just good reason to move forward with the Security Council resolution.

Yes, Sylvie.

QUESTION: After this new IAEA report, are you optimistic that a third resolution can be adopted soon at the Security Council?

SECRETARY RICE: I believe that anyone who takes a rather - even dispassionate assessment of what this report says or what the Iranians are doing would have to say that the reasons for a Security Council resolution are very strong. Iran continues to enrich. It is, in fact, enhancing its enrichment activities. It is clearly making all kinds of statements that suggest that it's not going to deal with the will of the international community. It hasn't answered questions about past activities in covert programs that they say they didn't have and it has not moved toward the additional protocol.

So if you just look at that record, I would have to say there is a very strong case for moving forward on a Security Council resolution. And given that many of the elements are very clear as to what should be in that Security Council resolution, given the success of the Berlin discussions between the United States, the European Three, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia, I see no reason that we can't move toward a Security Council resolution with some dispatch.

. . .