The Associated Press reporting:

TEHRAN, Iran - A new U.S. intelligence review concluding Iran stopped developing an atomic weapons program in 2003 is a “declaration of victory” for Iran’s nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday.

The U.S. intelligence report released Monday concluded that Iran had stopped its weapons program in late 2003 and shown no signs since of resuming it, representing a sharp turnaround from a previous intelligence assessment in 2005.

“This is a declaration of victory for the Iranian nation against the world powers over the nuclear issue,” Ahmadinejad told thousands of people during a visit to Ilam province in western Iran.

“This was a final shot to those who, in the past several years, spread a sense of threat and concern in the world through lies of nuclear weapons … Thanks to your resistance, a fatal shot was fired at the dreams of ill-wishers and the truthfulness of the Iranian nation was once again proved by the ill-wishers themselves,” Ahmadinejad said, drawing celebratory whistles from the crowd.

Yea… okay Mr President. The same guys you are accusing of spreading “a sense of threat and concern in the world through lies of nuclear weapons” is the same government that gives you your so-called vindication. We love the spin though!

Iran has touted the new U.S. intelligence report as vindication of its claims that its nuclear program is peaceful and Iranian officials insist that Washington should take a less hawkish stance and drop attempts to impose new sanctions in light of the report’s surprise conclusions.

Just like the liberal media before it, Iran is totally glossing over the fact that there was a Nuclear Weapons program in 2003. That that program was halted because of pressures from the United States and coalition forces (See Iraq War). And, that by now the Iranians have probably restarted their weapons program and we’ll hear about it in the next intelligence report due in 2013.

Rice explains new US view on Iran nukes

Also from the Associated Press:

Rice said Tuesday it would be a “big mistake” to ease any diplomatic pressure on Iran despite the new U.S. findings.

“It doesn’t mean you should take the pressure off,” she said en route to Ethiopia to see African leaders. “It puts a premium on diplomatic efforts.

“I continue to see Iran as a dangerous power in international politics,” Rice told reporters traveling with her. “At this moment, it doesn’t appear to have an active weaponization program. That frankly is good news. But if it causes people to say, ‘Oh, well, then we don’t need to worry about what the Iranians are doing,’ I think we will have made a big mistake.”

Since 2003 Iran “elected” Ahmadinejad and his religious nutjob views into office. The rhetoric against Israel increased dramatically. Including various times when he said that Israel would be forced into the sea, or wiped off the face of the earth (depending on the translation). There should be caution over Iran and what’s going on with it’s civilian nuclear plant.

The article continues.

Rice said it may take some time for U.S. allies to understand the administration’s new conclusions on Iran, but she said there should be great concern still about the Islamic republic’s continuing preprocessing and enrichment of uranium, which Tehran insists is only for civilian energy production. Such an enrichment program also could lead to nuclear weapons production.

“We need to do everything we can to stop them from being able to perfect this enrichment and reprocessing program,” she said.

The U.S. secretary of state urged nations such as China and Russia not to harden their stance against a new round of sanctions, arguing that the fact that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 because of international pressure shows that diplomacy works.

“We know that pressure has worked in the past and it caused them to do something very important,” Rice said. “Now let’s use our collective efforts to cause them to take the next important step,” she added, referring to a potential halt to its enrichment of uranium.

Rice said she wants officials from other countries to try to understand the nuance of the new U.S. intelligence assessment.

“People need the opportunity to absorb what they’ve heard,” she said. “We have been completely transparent about what the intelligence assessment says. And people need a chance to read it. When they do that and when they read it in its detail and nuance, they will be able to see the points that I have made.”

President Bush: “Come Clean” Iran!

Continuing on the Associated Press tour:

Two days after a new intelligence report said that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program four years ago, Bush demanded that Tehran detail its previous program to develop nuclear weapons “which the Iranian regime has yet to acknowledge.”

“The Iranians have a strategic choice to make,” he said. “They can come clean with the international community about the scope of their nuclear activities, and fully accept the long-standing offer to suspend their enrichment program and come to the table and negotiate, or they can continue on a path of isolation.”

The administration is worried that the new National Intelligence Estimate — representing a consensus of all U.S. spy agencies — weakens its leverage over Iran and its ability to build global pressure on Tehran to stop its uranium enrichment program.

Bush, arriving here on a campaign fundraising trip, said he had consulted with members of his national security team, who gave him a report about what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley have learned in talks during the past several days with their counterparts in Britain, Germany, France and Russia.

“These countries understand that the Iranian nuclear issue is a problem, and continues to be a problem and must be addressed,” Bush said.

Backing the U.S. intelligence community, Bush said he appreciated its work in helping people to understand past and present activities in Iran and helping the administration develop a sound policy.

“It is clear from the latest NIE that the Iranian government has more to explain about its nuclear intentions and past actions,” Bush said.

I agree. The fact is they were developing a nuclear weapons program. Now they need to answer why.