Tories Urge Caution Over Iran Report

The Conservative party has warned the international community against complacency after a US intelligence report claimed that Iran ended its nuclear weapons program four years ago.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today program this morning, the shadow foreign secretary, William Hague, said that, while the report undermined any arguments for immediate military action, it should not be allowed to loosen pressure for tougher sanctions.

Hague said: "It would be a great mistake for the international community to say, 'Oh, thank heavens for that; we don't have to worry about this at all.' "Iran is continuing in defiance of two [UN] security council resolutions, continuing to build centrifuges and to enrich uranium. This report says it could develop a nuclear weapon from 2010 onwards.

"So this problem has not gone away. It has perhaps changed in its nature with this report but it has not gone away."

This morning the Iranian government said it welcomed the US report, which contradicted assertions by the Bush administration that it was intent on building an atomic bomb.

Asked about the US report, Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran's foreign minister, told state radio: "It is natural that we welcome it when those countries who in the past have questions and ambiguities about this case ... now amend their views realistically."