CIA Report Found No Hard Evidence of Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program

A classified CIA assessment concluded there was no conclusive proof that Iran was secretly developing nuclear weapons, according to investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, writing in the 27 November edition of the New Yorker.

The agency conducted its analysis using satellite imagery and tests of water and air samples collected near suspected sites, finding no meaningful traces of radioactivity.

Despite the findings, senior Bush administration officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney and his staff, dismissed the report. They maintained that any Iranian nuclear weapons effort was simply well concealed, a senior security source told Hersh.

The US and other Western governments have long argued that Iran's uranium enrichment activities are directed toward building a bomb. Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear program serves entirely civilian and peaceful purposes.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in November 2006, in its own words.