Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed El Baradei has made an unequivocal statement that he had no evidence that Iran is building nuclear weapons.
"We haven't received any information there is a parallel, ongoing, active nuclear weapon program. Second, even if Iran were to be working on nuclear weapons ... they are at least (a) few years away from having such weapon." he said, citing Washington's own intelligence assessments.

He has also accused US leaders of adding 'fuel to the fire' with recent bellicose rhetoric. Washington slapped new sanctions on Iran last week and recent months have seen somewhat belligerent rhetoric that has prompted speculation of possible US military action before US President George W. Bush steps down in January 2009. President Bush, who recently suggested that a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to World War Three, has said he wants a diplomatic solution but has not ruled out the possibility of using force.

'My fear (is) that if we continue to escalate from both sides that we will end up into a precipice, we will end up into an abyss. The Middle East is in a total mess, to say the least. And we cannot add fuel to the fire.'

His comments came as US President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have been sharply ramping up their rhetoric about Iran, leading some critics to draw parallels with the late 2002 verbal escalation against Iraq.

In recent months, President Bush has predicted 'nuclear holocaust' and 'World War III' if Teheran gets atomic weapons, while Mr Cheney has warned of 'serious consequences' for Iran if it defies global demands to freeze uranium enrichment - echoing the UN resolution that Washington says authorised war in Iraq. Iran insists that it is enriching uranium only for nuclear energy and denies US charges that it is seeking the bomb.

Mr ElBaradei has been vindicated in his pre-war belief that Iraq was not resuming its own nuclear arms programme, contrary to claims by President Bush and Mr Cheney.

However, he said that in the current dispute, 'we cannot give Iran a pass right now, because there is still a lot of question marks.' 'But have we seen Iran having the nuclear material that can readily be used into a weapon? No. Have we seen an active weaponisation programme? No.' Merely 'exchanging rhetoric' would not resolve the Iranian nuclear case, the IAEA chief said, adding that 'the earlier we follow the North Korean model, the better for everybody.'

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