IAEA: Iran would need three to eight years to produce a nuclear bombOctober 22, 2007 - 17:47 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran would need three to eight years to produce a nuclear bomb, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog said in an interview published on Monday."I cannot judge their intentions, but supposing that Iran does intend to acquire a nuclear bomb, it would need between another three and eight years to succeed," said Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). "All the intelligence services agree on that," he said. ElBaradei said force should be used only when all diplomatic options have failed, adding there was plenty of time for diplomacy, sanctions, dialogue and incentives to bear fruit. "I want to get people away from the idea that Iran will be a threat from tomorrow, and that we are faced right now with the issue of whether Iran should be bombed or allowed to have the bomb," the Nobel peace prize winner said. "We are not at all in that situation. Iraq is a glaring example of how, in many cases, the use of force exacerbates the problem rather than solving it," he said, Reuters reports. Iran and the European Union (EU) are to resume their nuclear talks October 23. Although Ali Larijani, the country's top nuclear negotiator, has handed in his resignation, he will attend the talks with EU Commissioner Javier Solana in either Vienna or Rome on Tuesday. Saeed Jalili, a Deputy Foreign Minister and close ally of the Iranian president, replaced Larijani at the post. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | IDBank, Dalma team up for Caucasian Deer Reintroduction Program IDBank has joined Dalma Garden Mall’s Green Challenge to support the Caucasian red deer reintroduction project. Through Ucom’s support the 12th Sunchild Festival concludes On May 24-28, with the support of Ucom, the 12th international environmental festival Sunchild took place in Yerevan. U.S., Turkey emphasize importance of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal Jake Sullivan and Akif Cagatay Kilic have discussed the normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia coach expects good football in Slovenia friendly The Armenian national team has left for Ljubljana a friendly match against Slovenia on June 4. |