ElBaradei: Iran "somewhat vindicated" by US report

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
ElBaradei 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
ElBaradei 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Iran has been "somewhat vindicated" by a new US intelligence review that concludes the nation stopped developing a nuclear weapons program in 2003, the head of the UN atomic watchdog agency said Wednesday. International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Mohamed ElBaradei called the report a "sigh of relief" because its conclusions also jibe with the agency's own findings. "Iran obviously has been somewhat vindicated in saying they have not been working on a weapons program, at least for the last few years," ElBaradei told reporters in Brazil's capital. Monday's assessment by the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate said Teheran halted nuclear weapons development in late 2003 under international pressure.