Media mixed on Iran nuclear report

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7128822.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Mr Ahmadinejad sees the results of the review as a "declaration of victory" for Iran's nuclear program.

Iran's press has broadly welcomed a US intelligence report suggesting Tehran is not actively pursuing a nuclear weapons programme, although some papers caution against seeing this as a victory over the US.

Israeli press comment notes the differences in US and Israeli perceptions of Iran. The Russian media saw the report as a vindication of Moscow's policy of engagement with Iran, and the Chinese media thought it was an embarrassment for President Bush.

<center>Iranian</center>

Jomhuri-ye Eslami

America's intelligence report says that Iran had been seeking for nuclear weapons before 2003, and then because of America's diplomatic pressures it halted its nuclear weapon programmes and pursued peaceful nuclear activities...

In fact the Americans want to persuade public opinion that continuing to put more tough pressure on Iran is necessary, otherwise Iran will continue its nuclear weapon programmes...

Iran should make the best use of this opportunity to say that its nuclear activities are completely peaceful on the one hand, and to use the differences between the Republicans and the Democrats in the run-up to the presidential election to prevent a third [UN Security Council] resolution against Iran.

Resalat

In a nutshell we can say that isolating Iran in the world has been America's dream since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution...

By adopting dynamic foreign policies and effective strategies, Iran successfully curbed all foreign threats in the last two years.

Iran

The publication of certain parts of America's intelligence report, in which Washington confessed that Iran's nuclear programme is peaceful, proves that the Americans have baselessly accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapon programmes in the last four years...

Although there are certain negative points in the report, admitting that Iran's nuclear programmes are peaceful at the moment should make American officials apologise to Iranians.

E'temad-e-Melli

The intelligence report proves that America is disregarding the military option against Iran to curb its nuclear programmes in the run-up to the end of January on the one hand, and it will increase the pressure of sanctions on Tehran on the other hand...

The dominance of the Democrats in most opinion polls proves that the Republicans, while playing with the two cards of Palestine and Iraq, must solve many of their economic problems and keep away from being trapped in the mire of Iran.

Hamshahri

The confession of the American intelligence services that Iran's nuclear plans are peaceful may change public opinion for the better regarding Iran's nuclear activities, but it doesn't mean that America will back off from its position against the Islamic Republic of Iran...

This report should never be used as a reference point or criterion in our decision-making process.

<center>Israeli</center>

Amos Harel in Haaretz

Over the last year, a certain hope has developed in Israel that the US would do our dirty work for us; because what is possibly going on, quietly and secretly, between President Bush and his spiritual advisers will lead Bush to the conclusion that his supreme moral obligation is to remove the Iranian nuclear danger threatening Israel before he passes his job on to his successor.

Yesterday, from talking to a number of senior officials in the defence establishment, you could sense this hope had been buried in the wake of the report...

In practical terms, Israel will now have a harder time convincing the international community of its right to a military option against Tehran. The main avenue still open is increasing sanctions.

Eitan Haber in Yediot Aharonot

The "friendliest president to Israel", as Bush had been described more than once by a someone in the current regime in Israel, should take into account the "friendly state" somewhere in the Middle East.

But in the last year of his term... His Excellency is settling his personal account, and a US military operation against Iran seems to him at the moment (the stress is on at the moment) superfluous. The latest US report, if right, is testimony to this.

Dror Ze'evi in Yediot Aharonot

The story of Iran's nuclear programme is to a large extent a repeat of the Iraqi story, and what is left to us is to hope that the second time will indeed end in a farce and not in a tragedy.

Ya'akov Katz in Jerusalem Post

Both countries [US and Israel] are also influenced by different political agendas. The Americans, for example, are still traumatised by the blatant intelligence failure vis-a-vis Iraq's alleged WMD and, therefore, do not want to be caught crying wolf again.

Israel, on the other hand, is traumatised by its failure to learn of Libya's nuclear programme before it was abandoned in a deal Col Muammar Gaddafi struck with the US and UK. As a result of these traumas, both countries interpret the situation a little differently. Israel takes the more stringent track...

However, in America, where there is an already growing anti-war sentiment, the report is meant to send a message that the military option is, at least for now, off the table.

<center>Russian</center>

Presenter on Channel One's Vremya programme

Russia, which borders Iran, co-operates with it on nuclear issues and has always opposed pressure from the West, is welcoming Tehran's cooperation with international organisations on atomic energy.

Vremya correspondent Grigory Yemelyanov

Democrats are calling on Bush to abandon his anti-Iranian rhetoric and even to opt for a rapprochement with his sworn enemy... The revelations of the intelligence officers throw doubt on Bush's main argument in the diplomatic struggle on missile defence in Europe. Washington has been saying that missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic will defend the Old World from Iranian weapons... Bush is not altering his line.

Presenter on Rossiya TV's Vesti programme

Although George Bush has made it clear that he is not planning to change his policy on the Islamic Republic, the likelihood of a military operation being used against Iran seem minimal, even in the eyes of hawks.

Vesti correspondent Mikhail Solodovnikov

The split within the White House administration is growing ever clearer.

NTV Segodnya programme

The report has delivered a blow to US foreign policy, which recently and in the last year in particular has been largely based on containing Iran's nuclear programme.

Segodnya correspondent Anton Volsky

The idea of getting the UN Security Council to imposed sanctions is now stillborn.

<center>Chinese</center>

Xinhua News Agency

The US intelligence agencies' report that Iran had stopped its nuclear weapons programme a long time ago was quite unexpected... But observers are clear about one thing - the Bush administration has been put in an embarrassing situation once again.

Reporter Dang Jianjun in Guangzhou Daily

Eventually, the Bush administration has to pay for its selective "deafness". The non-existent Iraqi WMD put the legitimacy of the Iraq War in question, caused the US intelligence agencies to lose face, and greatly harmed the credibility of the US government.

Now, the latest intelligence on the Iranian nuclear project may undermine Washington's ongoing effort to impose new sanctions on Iran.

Prof Shi Yinhong in Huanqiu Shibao

It is not surprising for the US to publicise this piece of intelligence at this moment. It can only be said that the message it sent appears to be very complicated.

It doesn't mean Bush's Iran policy will undergo a major shift. It's just that someone wants to play a political trick on Bush and put him in an awkward position.

<A href="http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk">BBC Monitoring</A> selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.