A major US intelligence review has projected that Iran is about a decade away from making the key ingredient for a nuclear weapon, roughly doubling the previous estimate of five years, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The carefully hedged assessments, which represent consensus among US intelligence agencies, contrast with forceful public statements by the White House.

Administration officials have asserted, but have not offered proof, that Teheran is moving determinedly toward a nuclear arsenal, the report said.

The new estimate could also provide more time for diplomacy with Iran over its nuclear ambitions, the Post said.

US President George W. Bush has said that he wants Iran's nuclear crisis resolved diplomatically, but he also said at the same time that "all options are on the table."

However, the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) expressed uncertainty about whether Iran's ruling clerics have made a decision to build a nuclear arsenal.

The new estimate takes a broader approach to the question of Iran's political future. But it is unable to answer whether the country's ruling clerics will still be in control by the time the country is capable of producing fissile material.

The US administration keeps "hoping the mullahs will leave before Iran gets a nuclear weapons capability," said an official familiar with policy discussion.

Intelligence estimates are designed to alert the president of national security developments and help guide policy, the Post said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2005)