CHARLES GIBSON (ABC NEWS)
(Off-camera) All right, Mike. We're gonna turn next to the nuclear showdown with Iran and the question as to how Washington is gonna respond to the announcement that came yesterday that Tehran has taken a major step forward in its nuclear program. The White House began by warning Iran that it is, quote, 'moving in the wrong direction." But there's a lot of discussion in Washington these days about just what practically we can do about Iran's movement toward being a nuclear power. ABC News chief White House correspondent Martha Raddatz is joining us this morning from Washington.
CHARLES GIBSON (ABC NEWS)
(Voiceover) Martha, good morning.
MARTHA RADDATZ (ABC NEWS)
(Off-camera) Good morning, Charlie. Today the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency heads to Tehran to try to convince the Iranians to shut down their enrichment program, but that's not likely to happen given the celebration in Iran yesterday.
MARTHA RADDATZ (ABC NEWS)
(Voiceover) Tribal dancers held up vials of yellowcake, singers chanted, and highly produced videos heralded the details of the breakthrough.
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD (IRAN)
(Speaking foreign language)
MARTHA RADDATZ (ABC NEWS)
(Voiceover) 'Uranium with the desired enrichment was achieved," said Iran's president. 'Iran has joined the nuclear countries of the world." The news was greeted with cheers of 'Allah akbar," 'God is great." And if anyone thought this was not intended for an international audience, they only needed to see the sign on stage, 'Using Atomic Energy Is our Certain Right," written in English.
MARK FITZPATRICK (INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES)
It's gonna be a lot harder now to roll them back to no enrichment at all.
MARTHA RADDATZ (ABC NEWS)
(Voiceover) While the administration has known that this is what the Iranians were trying to achieve, this announcement appeared to be a surprise and a setback for the administration. Just this week, President Bush said Iran should be prevented from acquiring the knowledge to better enrich uranium, which is what the Iranians have now done.
JOSEPH CIRINCIONE (CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE)
This is a milestone in any program, but they're definitely pumping it for all its worth.
MARTHA RADDATZ (ABC NEWS)
(Voiceover) It would take 1,500 centrifuges operating continually for a year to get enough enriched uranium for a bomb.
MARTHA RADDATZ (ABC NEWS)
(Voiceover) The Iranians say they have operated 164 centrifuges for only a few days. In other words, making a bomb is a long way off.
JOSEPH CIRINCIONE (CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE)
This is like the Wright brothers achieving flight for 12 seconds. That's great. But now you've got to build a plane that can get you across the country.
MARTHA RADDATZ (ABC NEWS)
(Off-camera) The administration condemned Iran's actions, Charlie, but still says they will pursue a diplomatic tract.
CHARLES GIBSON (ABC NEWS)
(Off-camera) Martha Raddatz at the White House. Martha, before we let you go, the, the White House has a double focus these days, focused on what's going on in Iran with the nuclear program, and obviously focused next door on the war in Iraq. And there's a story in 'The Washington Post" this morning that's interesting. The president gave a speech, I think it was around Memorial Day, 2003, in which he said we've actually found some weapons of mass destruction.
CHARLES GIBSON (ABC NEWS)
(Voiceover) They'd found a couple trailers that he said actually were the mobile biological laboratories that he said showed that they were indeed developing WMD, and 'The Washington Post" has a story today that says the president knew at the time that was not true. What's going on?
MARTHA RADDATZ (ABC NEWS)
(Off-camera) Really quite an extraordinary story, Charlie. Apparently secret teams had already been into Iraq and determined, according to 'The Washington Post," that these were not mobile biological labs. Two days later, the president goes out and says this is proof there is WMD in Iraq, and the administration pretty much stuck to that story for many, many months after that.
CHARLES GIBSON (ABC NEWS)
(Voiceover) So another embarrassment for the White House?
MARTHA RADDATZ (ABC NEWS)
(Off-camera) It, it certainly is, Charlie. I would say it is.
CHARLES GIBSON (ABC NEWS)
(Off-camera) All right. Martha Raddatz, thanks, from the White House on Iran and Iraq. Diane?
