Washington: Iran is enriching uranium but
that it has not made a decision on whether to proceed with
development of an atomic bomb, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said.
"I think they're developing a nuclear capability. Our
intelligence makes clear that they haven't made the decision
to develop a nuclear weapon itself," Panetta told lawmakers at
a Congressional hearing in response to a question from Senator
Lindsey Graham.
"Yes," Panetta said when asked by Graham if he feels
confident that US has the ability, if necessary, militarily to
deal with the Iranian threat.
Gen Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, said that the Iranian regime is dangerously misguided.
"Look at its behaviour. It protects itself, it loathes
its neighbours, it interferes with its neighbours, it
threatens its neighbours, and it disregards its own citizens,"
he said.
"My view of this is we can't afford to underestimate our
potential adversaries by writing them off as irrational.
That's kind of the juxtaposition of the phrase," he said.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 14:05