Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Sunday

President Bush Skeptical Of IAEA Findings In Iran

Aired November 16, 2003 - 16:23   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: A new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency has found no evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program. But Undersecretary of State John Bolton has made it known that the Bush administration finds that conclusion, "simply impossible to believe." The U.N. is standing by the report, while the Bush administration is still talking tough.
To try to make sense of all of this, we're joined from Washington by David Albright. He is a former U.N. nuclear weapons inspector and now president of the Institute for Science and International Technology.

Nice to see you.

DAVID ALBRIGHT, FMR. U.N. NUCLEAR WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Good to see you.

KOPPEL: So which is it? You know, I think a lot of people were surprised by the IAEA's conclusion. On the one hand, they say Iran had this secret program for the last 18 years. It's produced small amounts of plutonium and enriched uranium, which can be used for an atomic bomb, but no evidence of a nuclear program.

ALBRIGHT: Well, they're not finished. I mean, you really have to interpret it that way. That the evidence they found was really best to prove that Iran had secret nuclear production activities.

The evidence that's gathered so far on any nuclear weapons activities are rather weak. And so -- but they will have to look. And one of the reasons to keep this process going is to give Iran an opportunity to admit to more things.

KOPPEL: Well, I think another surprise is not just that Iran has finally come clean about this and that it has been producing these -- this fissile material, but the idea that it's saying -- opening its doors to international inspectors, saying, come on in guys, check everything out. Why are they doing this?

ALBRIGHT: Well, it's unclear. But it could be that, if you're hopeful that they have made a decision to start backing away from some of these secret activities, they were caught. And they know that because of the intense international pressure, if they don't change their ways then they'll face severe economic isolation right at a time when they're reaching out and frying to get more trade deals and interact more with the world.

So it may be that the people who say, look, we just don't need nuclear weapons are gaining more power now. Now, there's still people in Iran who I believe want nuclear weapons. And so this is...

KOPPEL: And who are these people, the hard-liners?

ALBRIGHT: The hard-liners or people who just fear that the United States and what the United States may do in the future, people who fear that the region will become tough for them in the future. Maybe Iraq won't be a growing democracy. Maybe there'll be hostility again toward Iran.

KOPPEL: So from what we know now, does Iran pose a threat either to the region or to the United States as things stand right now? And how far away do we think they are from actually producing atomic weapons?

ALBRIGHT: Well, if this doesn't work out -- sorry. If this doesn't work out, then Iran does pose a threat. I mean, Iran could, let's say, press too hard. Could say, look, we cooperated and we got punished, what's the point? And then just go ahead and resume its nuclear activities and possibly end up with a bomb in two to three years.

Things could go well, in a sense, and the international community through pressure and patience woos them away from nuclear weapons and they simply back away from any of these nuclear activities. And so Iran will still pose a threat because it supports terrorism and has done other things the U.S. doesn't like. But it wouldn't have nuclear weapons.

KOPPEL: Well, we know the IAEA's board of governors; the United States is a member. So is Iran. It's going to be meeting later this month. Any chance there are going to be economic sanctions put in place?

ALBRIGHT: I don't think so. I mean, the question is the fact that Iran has admitted that it did not abide by its agreements, international agreements, like the nonproliferation treaty, may force a report to the U.N. Security Council. And at that point, the U.S. may try to get sanctions. But I think realistically right now we're not looking at that.

KOPPEL: So it's time to stay tuned.

ALBRIGHT: Yes.

KOPPEL: David Albright, thanks for coming in on a Sunday.

ALBRIGHT: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 16, 2003 - 16:23   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: A new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency has found no evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program. But Undersecretary of State John Bolton has made it known that the Bush administration finds that conclusion, "simply impossible to believe." The U.N. is standing by the report, while the Bush administration is still talking tough.
To try to make sense of all of this, we're joined from Washington by David Albright. He is a former U.N. nuclear weapons inspector and now president of the Institute for Science and International Technology.

Nice to see you.

DAVID ALBRIGHT, FMR. U.N. NUCLEAR WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Good to see you.

KOPPEL: So which is it? You know, I think a lot of people were surprised by the IAEA's conclusion. On the one hand, they say Iran had this secret program for the last 18 years. It's produced small amounts of plutonium and enriched uranium, which can be used for an atomic bomb, but no evidence of a nuclear program.

ALBRIGHT: Well, they're not finished. I mean, you really have to interpret it that way. That the evidence they found was really best to prove that Iran had secret nuclear production activities.

The evidence that's gathered so far on any nuclear weapons activities are rather weak. And so -- but they will have to look. And one of the reasons to keep this process going is to give Iran an opportunity to admit to more things.

KOPPEL: Well, I think another surprise is not just that Iran has finally come clean about this and that it has been producing these -- this fissile material, but the idea that it's saying -- opening its doors to international inspectors, saying, come on in guys, check everything out. Why are they doing this?

ALBRIGHT: Well, it's unclear. But it could be that, if you're hopeful that they have made a decision to start backing away from some of these secret activities, they were caught. And they know that because of the intense international pressure, if they don't change their ways then they'll face severe economic isolation right at a time when they're reaching out and frying to get more trade deals and interact more with the world.

So it may be that the people who say, look, we just don't need nuclear weapons are gaining more power now. Now, there's still people in Iran who I believe want nuclear weapons. And so this is...

KOPPEL: And who are these people, the hard-liners?

ALBRIGHT: The hard-liners or people who just fear that the United States and what the United States may do in the future, people who fear that the region will become tough for them in the future. Maybe Iraq won't be a growing democracy. Maybe there'll be hostility again toward Iran.

KOPPEL: So from what we know now, does Iran pose a threat either to the region or to the United States as things stand right now? And how far away do we think they are from actually producing atomic weapons?

ALBRIGHT: Well, if this doesn't work out -- sorry. If this doesn't work out, then Iran does pose a threat. I mean, Iran could, let's say, press too hard. Could say, look, we cooperated and we got punished, what's the point? And then just go ahead and resume its nuclear activities and possibly end up with a bomb in two to three years.

Things could go well, in a sense, and the international community through pressure and patience woos them away from nuclear weapons and they simply back away from any of these nuclear activities. And so Iran will still pose a threat because it supports terrorism and has done other things the U.S. doesn't like. But it wouldn't have nuclear weapons.

KOPPEL: Well, we know the IAEA's board of governors; the United States is a member. So is Iran. It's going to be meeting later this month. Any chance there are going to be economic sanctions put in place?

ALBRIGHT: I don't think so. I mean, the question is the fact that Iran has admitted that it did not abide by its agreements, international agreements, like the nonproliferation treaty, may force a report to the U.N. Security Council. And at that point, the U.S. may try to get sanctions. But I think realistically right now we're not looking at that.

KOPPEL: So it's time to stay tuned.

ALBRIGHT: Yes.

KOPPEL: David Albright, thanks for coming in on a Sunday.

ALBRIGHT: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com