DAR AL HARB - U.S.A.: IRANIAN NUKE POSSIBLE BY LATE 2009, BUT UNLIKELY" SAID U.S.N.I. DIRECTOR MICHAEL McCONNELL

What NIE? McConnell sees possible Iran nuke by late next year

WASHINGTON — The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Iran could assemble its first nuclear bomb as early as 2009.

The intelligence community, in what marked a significant revision of previous assessments, said Iran could produce a sufficient amount of enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon in late 2009. The community has confirmed Iran's operation of about 3,000 gas centrifuges at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant as well as Teheran's capability to eventually produce a nuclear weapon.

"We judge with moderate confidence that the earliest possible date Iran would be technically capable of producing enough highly enriched uranium for a weapon in late 2009," U.S. National Intelligence director Michael McConnell said. "But that is very unlikely."

In a briefing to the Senate Select Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, McConnell appeared to play down a previous U.S. assessment that Teheran halted its nuclear weapon program. Instead, McConnell, in his first appearance since the release of the controversial National Intelligence Estimate in December 2007, acknowledged differences within the intelligence community over Iran's nuclear program.

"We judge with moderate confidence Iran probably would be technically capable of producing enough HEU [highly-enriched uranium] for a weapon sometime during the 2010-2015 time frame," McConnell said. "INR judges Iran is unlikely to achieve this capability before 2013 because of foreseeable technical and programmatic problems. All agencies recognize the possibility that this capability may not be attained until after 2015."

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