"Iran having a nuclear weapon, I believe, for a long time, is a very,
very bad outcome for the region and for the world," Mullen said.
This marked the first time that a senior U.S. official said Iran had
produced enough enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon. In February 2009,
U.S. National Intelligence director Dennis Blair said Iran remained years
away from nuclear weapons capability.
Hours later, Defense Secretary Robert Gates played down Mullen's
assessment. Gates, a holdover from the previous Bush administration, said
the United States had time to utilize diplomatic means to stop Iran's
weapons program.
"They're not close to a stockpile," Gates told NBC television. "They're
not close to a weapon at this point, and so there is some time."
The State Department also disputed Mullen's assessment, issued ahead of
a National Intelligence Estimate on Iran expected to be released in April.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the United States did not know
the size of Iran's fissile material stockpile.
"There are differing view not only outside government but also inside
the government," Wood, who was accompanying Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, said. "We just don't know."
Mullen's spokesman, Capt. John Kirby, sought to play down the admiral's
assessment of Iran. Kirby said the Joint Chiefs chairman was merely
referring to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran
has processed more than a metric ton of low-enriched uranium.
