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CIA Report Says Iran, Syria, Libya Seek Weapons Buildup
WASHINGTON, Sept 8 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Iran, Syria and Libya are among countries allegedly seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction and expand stocks of advanced conventional arms, a biannual CIA report released Friday said.
The report, which focuses on weapons activities in the latter half of 2000, was delivered Friday by the U.S. intelligence agency to the U.S. Congress.
The document tracks weapons procurement efforts of several countries, including various nations with which Washington has strained relations.
"Tehran is attempting to develop a domestic capability to produce various types of weapons - chemical, biological and nuclear," the report said, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
A good deal of technical support for Iran's weapons program came from Russia and China, the CIA document said.
Russia reportedly helped Iran build a 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactor at Bushehr. The assistance gives Iran more nuclear know-how, the report said.
"The expertise and technology gained, along with the commercial channels and contacts established - particularly through the Bushehr nuclear power plant project - could be used to advance Iran's nuclear weapons research and development program," it added.
Iran allegedly has stocks of chemical weapons and is seeking more, as well as the ability to make their own, from "entities in Russia and China," the report says without identifying the alleged "entities".
In the same geographic region, "Libya ... continues to develop its nuclear research and development program, but would still require significant foreign assistance to advance a nuclear weapons option," the document said.
Meanwhile, "it would appear that Syria is trying to develop more toxic and persistent nerve agents," it added.
The report also briefly documents weapons acquisitions by India, Sudan, Pakistan and Egypt, as well as activities of the world's key suppliers of weapons of mass destruction, including Russia, China and North Korea.
While several countries are dependent on foreign suppliers for weapons technology and materials, the report noted "continuing efforts to develop indigenous designs for advanced conventional weapons."
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