From correspondents in Paris

October 22, 2007 08:03pm
Article from: Reuters

IRAN would need three to eight years to produce a nuclear bomb, the head
of the UN's nuclear watchdog said in an interview published today.

"I cannot judge their intentions, but supposing that Iran does intend to
acquire a nuclear bomb, it would need between another three and eight
years to succeed," Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), told France's Le Monde "All the intelligence
services agree on that," he said.

Mr ElBaradei said force should be used only when all diplomatic options
have failed, adding there was plenty of time for diplomacy, sanctions,
dialogue and incentives to bear fruit.

"I want to get people away from the idea that Iran will be a threat from
tomorrow, and that we are faced right now with the issue of whether Iran
should be bombed or allowed to have the bomb," the Nobel peace prize
winner said.

"We are not at all in that situation. Iraq is a glaring example of how,
in many cases, the use of force exacerbates the problem rather than
solving it."

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