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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Bush says Iran remains a threat | Bush says Iran remains a threat |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Iran remains a threat to the world despite new intelligence saying the country may not be building nuclear weapons, the US president says. | |
| Mr Bush said the report released on Monday was a "warning signal" and his view that a nuclear Iran would be a danger "hasn't changed". | |
| The president stressed that Iran was still trying to enrich uranium and could restart its weapons programme. | The president stressed that Iran was still trying to enrich uranium and could restart its weapons programme. |
| Tehran has denied continued accusations that it is developing nuclear weapons. | Tehran has denied continued accusations that it is developing nuclear weapons. |
| Mr Bush said the new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) was "an opportunity for us to rally the international community" to pressure the Iranian regime to suspend its efforts to enrich uranium - a key part of the process in making a nuclear bomb. | Mr Bush said the new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) was "an opportunity for us to rally the international community" to pressure the Iranian regime to suspend its efforts to enrich uranium - a key part of the process in making a nuclear bomb. |
| "I view this report as a warning signal that they had the program, they halted the program," Mr Bush told a news conference. "The reason why it's a warning signal is they could restart it." | |
| "Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the know-how to make a nuclear weapon," Mr Bush said. | |
| Military option | Military option |
| Monday's report said with "high confidence" that it believed Iran had halted its nuclear weapons programme in 2003, but that it was continuing to enrich uranium. | Monday's report said with "high confidence" that it believed Iran had halted its nuclear weapons programme in 2003, but that it was continuing to enrich uranium. |
| Report frustrates US hawksUS report cools crisisShould US change policy? The NIE overturned the previous view that Iran was pushing ahead with a nuclear weapons programme, which had led to UN Security Council and unilateral US sanctions against the country. | |
| Analysts say the intelligence will make it harder for proponents of military action against Iran to argue their case. | Analysts say the intelligence will make it harder for proponents of military action against Iran to argue their case. |
| When asked if military action was a possibility, Mr Bush said: "The best diplomacy - effective diplomacy - is one in which all options are on the table." | When asked if military action was a possibility, Mr Bush said: "The best diplomacy - effective diplomacy - is one in which all options are on the table." |
| A BBC correspondent in Washington says there has been a dramatic shift in President Bush's rhetoric on Iran. | |
| He says Mr Bush has gone from raising the spectre of World War III, to saying that Iran could be a danger to the world if it had the knowledge to develop nuclear weapons. | |
| In his comments to journalists, Mr Bush also discussed recent developments in Russia and Venezuela. | |
| He said the Venezuelan people had "rejected one-man rule" in Sunday's referendum on constitutional changes proposed by President Hugo Chavez. | |
| The vote was a "very strong vote for democracy," Mr Bush said. | |
| And the US president said he had personally expressed concern over the conduct of Russia's parliamentary election - also on Sunday - in a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. |