Officials said the NIE, which asserted that
Teheran ended its nuclear weapons program in 2003, appeared to reflect an
administration decision to abandon a U.S. military option against Iran.
The officials
said NIE reflected a paucity of U.S. intelligence on Iran's nuclear program.
"If on the issue of Iraq there was overassessment [of intelligence],
here there was underassessment," Yuval Steinitz, chairman of a Knesset
subcommittee that oversees the Israeli strategic dialogue with the United
States, said.
In September 2007, Steinitz headed a Knesset delegation to the United
States to discuss such issues as Iran, Egypt and Al Qaida with the
administration and Congress. The delegation met Vice President Richard
Cheney and exchanged
assessments of Iran's nuclear weapons program.
"They never said Iran had stopped the nuclear weapons program," Steinitz
recalled on Tuesday. "There were differences on when Iran would reach
nuclear weapons capability, but not that it sought such capability."
Until NIE was released on Dec. 3, officials said, the U.S. intelligence
community maintained that Iran could assemble nuclear weapons by 2011.
Israel has concluded that Iran could build its first nuclear weapons by late
2009.
Barak said the Israeli and U.S.
intelligence communities agreed that Teheran suspended its nuclear weapons
program in 2003 amid massive Western pressure to open Iran's nuclear
facilities. But Barak said Israel determined that Iran soon renewed the
weapons program. The two countries plan to conduct a strategic dialogue in
January 2008.
"It seems Iran in 2003 halted for a certain period of time its military
nuclear program, but as far as we know it has probably since renewed it,"
Barak said.
Barak said he held talks on Iran in October and November 2007 with
senior administration officials. He acknowledged disagreements with his
American hosts.
"There are various assessments of Iran's nuclear progress," Barak said.
"It continues to be in the center of all our discussions, and time will tell
which appraisal is correct."
