Reaction

A new National Intelligence Estimate from U.S. spy agencies found that Iran halted a nuclear weapons program it began in the late 1980s in the fall of 2003 and probably has not restarted it. Reaction to the report came from around the world Tuesday:

The new report is consistent with the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency's own findings and "should help to defuse the current crisis," IAEA Director Mohamed ElBaradei said.

"Although Iran still needs to clarify some important aspects of its past and present nuclear activities, the agency has no concrete evidence of an ongoing nuclear weapons program or undeclared nuclear facilities in Iran," ElBaradei said.

At the same time, he urged Iran "to work actively with the IAEA to clarify specific aspects of its past and present nuclear program. This would allow the agency to provide the required assurances regarding the nature of the program."

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said: "Some of the same countries which had questions or ambiguities about our nuclear program are changing their views realistically."

Mottaki's spokesman, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, said the U.S. report proves that Washington's warnings over the danger of the Iranian nuclear program "are baseless and unreliable."

President Bush said he sees the report as "a warning signal" of a continuing threat from Iran.

He insisted the report vindicated his administration's "carrots and sticks" approach to Iran.

Israeli officials, who have been warning that Iran would soon pose a nuclear threat to the world, reacted forcefully.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak directly challenged the new assessment in an interview with Israel's Army Radio: "It seems Iran in 2003 halted for a certain period of time its military nuclear program, but as far as we know, it has probably since revived it."

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert: "It is vital to continue efforts to prevent Iran from attaining [nuclear] capability."

The message from Europe: Don't let Iran off the hook just yet.

Britain: "The report confirms we were right to be worried about Iran seeking to develop nuclear weapons. It also shows that the sanctions program and international pressure has had some effect," said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman, Michael Allam.