US Military Action Against Iran Would Only 'Buy Time': Gates

US Military Action Against Iran Would Only 'Buy Time': Gates
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26/09/2009 Any possible military action against Iran would only "buy time" and delay Tehran's nuclear program by about one to three years, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.

"The reality is there is no military option that does anything more than buy time," Gates told CNN.

"The estimates are one to three years or so," he said when asked about the impact of possible military options on Iran's nuclear sites.

The Pentagon chief meanwhile told ABC television's "This Week" program that "the Iranians have the intention of having nuclear weapons," but stressed that whether Tehran had formally decided to develop them "is in doubt."

Gates, a former CIA chief, said the second plant revelation did "not necessarily" challenge a 2007 National Intelligence Estimate that found Iran had halted its nuclear weapons development program in 2003, a judgment challenged by Israel and other US allies in Europe.
"What it does mean is that they had a covert site, they did not declare it. If this were a peaceful nuclear program, why didn't they announce this site when they began to construct it? Why didn't they allow IAEA inspectors in from the very beginning?" asked Gates.

"This is part of a pattern of deception and lies on the part of the Iranians from the very beginning with respect to their nuclear program. So it's no wonder that world leaders think that they have ulterior motives that they have a plan to go forward with nuclear weapons."
The defense secretary told CNN's "State of the Union" program that while the United States would not rule out the use of force, there was still time for diplomacy and sanctions to persuade Iran to give up uranium enrichment work.

"The only way you end up not having a nuclear-capable Iran is for the Iranian government to decide that their security is diminished by having those weapons as opposed to strengthened," he said.

"While you don't take options off the table, I still think there's room left for diplomacy," he said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking at a New York news conference, said Iran had informed the International Atomic Energy Agency early about the facility, which the Western leaders on Friday labeled a direct challenge to the international community.

"It's not a secret site. If it was, why would we have informed the IAEA about it a year ahead of time," Ahmadinejad said, adding that Iran was not obliged to tell the Obama administration of every uranium enrichment plant it has.