US Ambassador privately admits Iran's nuclear ambition is not for weapon

WikiLeaks and The Guardian

26 January 2011

In a classified cable dated 29 April 2009, Ambassador Gregory L. Schulte confirms that Iran had no weapon programme in its nuclear activities. In his cable, he says, "Recalling the U.S. Intelligence Community's assessment in the 2007 NIE that Iran halted its nuclear weapons work in 2003, France asked about information in DDG Safeguards Olli Heinonen's February 2008 technical briefing, which indicated some activities had taken place in 2004. The U.S. responded that the information in Heinonen's February 2008 briefing was consistent with the 2003 weaponisation halt assessment, since some activities were wrapping up in 2004."

Toward a Negotiated Solution – Solving the Iranian Nuclear Puzzle

by Charles D. Ferguson
Jan 26, 2011

Last week, I spoke at a meeting of the Arms Control Association on the Multilateral “P-5+1” talks with Iran over its nuclear program. How can we improve IAEA monitoring and verification so that we can have sufficient confidence that Iran’s nuclear fuel-cycle activities are not used for weapons purposes?