British Report Says Iran 5 Years Away From Nuclear Weapon

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/06/international/middleeast/06cnd-iran.html?pagewanted=print

British Report Says Iran 5 Years Away From Nuclear Weapon


LONDON, Sept. 6 - A leading British research institute said today that Iran was at least five years away from producing sufficient material for "a single nuclear weapon" - but only if it chose to ignore international reaction and "throw caution to the wind."

The International Institute for Strategic Studies said its conclusions were based on a variety of public sources of information, including visits to Iranian nuclear sites arranged by the Iranian authorities. "Nevertheless," the Institute's director, John Chipman, told reporters, "there remains a good deal that cannot be known for certain from the outside."

Dr. Chipman was presenting a report at a diplomatically delicate time. Iran angered western negotiators by resuming limited uranium conversion activities at a plant in Isfahan on Aug. 8, ending a suspension of nuclear activities agreed with the European Union last November.

...

Western nations, including the United States, have threatened to refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council, where it could face an array of penalties over its nuclear policies. Initially, a European official said, the intention is to seek "the backing, the weight" of the Security Council to isolate Iran internationally.