Israel Matzav

White House pours cold water on Barak

In an earlier post, I reported on a claim by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak that a new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran will show US acknowledgment of Iranian pursuit of a nuclear weapon. The White House hurried to pour cold water on that report.

But a White House National Security Council spokesman disputed the Israeli reports, saying the U.S. intelligence assessment of Iran's nuclear activities had not changed since intelligence officials delivered testimony to Congress on the issue earlier this year.

"We believe that there is time and space to continue to pursue a diplomatic path, backed by growing international pressure on the Iranian government," the spokesman said. "We continue to assess that Iran is not on the verge of achieving a nuclear weapon."

U.S. officials would not directly comment on whether there was a new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, which is a compilation of views of the various U.S. intelligence agencies.

What could go wrong?

Labels: Ehud Barak, Iranian nuclear threat, National Intelligence Estimate

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:55 AM