Weapon Program:
- Nuclear
Related Country:
- Iraq
- Iran
. . .
MS. GEARAN: Mr. Secretary, you had early qualms about the war in Iraq -- a war based, in part, on assertions that Saddam Hussein had deadly weapons we have not found there. Now there is a debate over the nuclear threat posed by Iran and discussion of a military strike to neutralize that threat. Do you have any similar skepticism of the validity of the intelligence on Iran, and what is your advice to the President about whether the United States should take any military action?
SECRETARY POWELL: I don't know of any military action that is being contemplated. Obviously, in the Pentagon, people are always thinking about the unthinkable. But there are no military plans about to be launched and there's no point in getting everybody excited about this.
What the President has said clearly is that we're going to work with our European Union friends, we're going to work with the IAEA, to put pressure on Iran to make sure that the concerns of the international community are satisfied by Iran. And we support what the EU-3 have done and we hope that the EU-3, working with Iran, can make this a more permanent solution and not just a suspension of enrichment and conversion activities.
We are looking for a peaceful solution and we believe that we have made progress over the last several years in putting a spot light on Iranian nuclear activity and putting a heat lamp on Iranian nuclear activity, and the whole world is now concerned about it.
MS. GEARAN: Do you think they're still hiding things?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, we have reason to believe that they have not abandoned the desire to develop a nuclear weapons; and if you have that desire, then you may well be hiding things. And so until they have satisfied the international community and until there is absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind that they are not hiding something, I think it's wise in this case to be somewhat suspicious.
. . .