enriched uranium to make two weapons, which it could have prepared and ready for delivery as early as 2012, CIA director Leon Panetta warned Sunday. “We think they have enough low-enriched uranium for two weapons,” Panetta told the ABC network's “This Week” program. Tehran would need a year to enrich it fully to produce a bomb and it would take “another year to develop the kind of weapon delivery system in order to make that viable,” he said. Iran is under mounting international pressure over its suspect nuclear program, which the West fears masks a covert weapons drive. The US Congress this week endorsed a sweeping package of tough new energy and financial sanctions on Tehran over the program. Iran vehemently denies the charge, but has been flexing its military muscle mainly in the strategic Gulf region by staging regular war games and showcasing an array of Iran-manufactured missiles. On June 10, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1929, which imposed military and financial sanctions on Iran aiming to rein in the suspect nuclear drive. Panetta also says he is doubtful that recent UN penalties will put an end to Iran's nuclear ambitions. He says the penalties could help to weaken Tehran's government by creating serious economic problems. But he adds, “Will it deter them from their ambitions with regards to nuclear capability? Probably not.” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has lashed out at the international community in the wake of sanctions, charging that the UN Security Council has become an “oppressive tool” of world powers. In an outburst earlier this month against the Security Council for imposing the new round of sanctions, the hardline president said the UN body had failed to resolve any key world issues, including conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. “We continue to urge them to engage in peaceful use of nuclear power,” Panetta said Sunday. “If they did that, they wouldn't have these concerns, they wouldn't have these problems. The international community would be working with them instead of having them work on their own.” –AgenciesAt a G8 meet in Canada, meanwhile, world leaders urged Iran to hold a “transparent dialogue” over its nuclear program, as Ahmadinejad prepared to unveil his conditions for talks. “We are profoundly concerned by Iran's continued lack of transparency regarding its nuclear activities and its stated intention to continue and expand enriching uranium, including to nearly 20 percent,” G8 leaders said in a communique issued Saturday. They welcomed all efforts to rein in the country's suspect uranium enrichment program, making special note of efforts to broker a deal by Brazil and Turkey.
