History musn't repeat says UN nuclear watchdog

MONTEREY - Iran does not pose an immediate nuclear threat and the world must act cautiously to avoid repeating mistakes made with Iraq and North Korea, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency said.

Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the world shouldn't "jump the gun" with erroneous information as he said the United States-led coalition did in Iraq in 2003.

"Our assessment is that there is no immediate threat," he said in San Francisco. "We still have lots of time to investigate. You look around in the Middle East right now and it's a total mess. You cannot add oil to that fire."

The recent violent history in Iraq bears an important lesson for diplomacy with neighbouring Iran. "We should not jump the gun. We should be very careful about assessing the information available to us."

The Bush Administration said before the invasion of Iraq that then President Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were found. "I ask myself every day if that's the way we want to go in getting rid of every single dictator," ElBaradei said.

While it was unclear whether Iran ultimately intended to redirect its development of nuclear power into a weapons system, it was clear there was no danger of that right now, he said.

ElBaradei believed a majority in the Iranian leadership was still interested in a negotiated solution and normal relations with the world. "We have learned some lessons from North Korea. When you push a country into a corner, you are giving the driver's seat to the hardliners there."

- REUTERS