TEHRAN - Iran's president declared victory over the United States on Wednesday after a U.S. intelligence report contradicted the Bush administration's charges that Tehran was actively seeking a nuclear weapon.
The report would be a factor in deciding whether further United Nations sanctions on Iran were needed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. Washington has been pushing for new sanctions in the face of resistance from Russia and China.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also said that Iran would press ahead with its disputed nuclear programme, which the Islamic Republic says has only peaceful civilian aims.
"Today, the Iranian nation is victorious but you (the United States) are empty-handed," Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech to a rally in the western Iranian city of Ilam.
In response to the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) which said Iran halted a nuclear weapons programme in 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush said on Tuesday Iran remained a danger because it was mastering technology with a military use.
The NIE report said Iran was continuing to develop the technical means that could be applied to producing weapons.
Bush's comments were echoed on Wednesday by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
"It is the very strong view of the administration, that the Iranian regime remains problematic, a dangerous regime," Rice said during a visit to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
Bush again refused to rule out military action if diplomatic efforts failed to resolve the dispute and Washington said it would continue pressing for a third round of U.N. sanctions unless Iran halts uranium enrichment.
