Iran keeping all options open on nuclear weapons

WASHINGTON--Iran is keeping the option open to develop a nuclear weapon but U.S. intelligence agencies do not know whether it will eventually decide to build one, the U.S. intelligence chief said on Tuesday.

New U.S. sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear program were likely to have a greater impact than previous ones, but were not expected to lead to the downfall of Tehran's leadership, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in prepared testimony on the annual worldwide threat assessment for the Senate intelligence committee.

"We assess Iran is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons, in part by developing various nuclear capabilities that better position it to produce such weapons, should it choose to do so," Clapper said. "We do not know, however, if Iran will eventually decide to build nuclear weapons."

Iran is expanding its uranium enrichment capabilities, which can be used for either civil or weapons purposes, he said. "Iran's technical advancement, particularly in uranium enrichment, strengthens our assessment that Iran has the scientific, technical, and industrial capacity to eventually produce nuclear weapons, making the central issue its political will to do so," Clapper said.

"These advancements contribute to our judgment that Iran is technically capable of producing enough highly enriched uranium for a weapon, if it so chooses," he said.

President Barack Obama signed into law Dec. 31 sanctions on Iran's central bank. The new U.S. sanctions will have a greater impact on Iran because the Central Bank of Iran handles a large volume of foreign bank transactions and receives the revenue for the roughly 70 percent of Iranian oil sold by the National Iranian Oil Company, Clapper said.

"Despite this, Iran's economic difficulties probably will not jeopardize the regime, absent a sudden and sustained fall in oil prices or a sudden domestic crisis that disrupts oil exports," he said.

Iran has sought to "exploit the Arab Spring but has reaped limited benefits, thus far," the testimony said. Its biggest regional concern is Syria where a change in leadership would be a major strategic loss for Tehran.

Nearly a year into the unrest, the situation in Syria is unlikely to be resolved quickly, Clapper said. "Both the regime and the opposition are determined to prevail, and neither side appears willing to compromise on the key issue of President Bashar al-Assad remaining in power."