国际英语新闻：Top U.S. army officer: Iran has enough material to make nuclear bomb

WASHINGTON, Mar. 1 (Xinhua) -- Iran has enough material to build a nuclear bomb, said U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen on Sunday.

    "We think they do, quite frankly," Mullen told cnn's "State of the Union" presided by John King, when asked if Iran had enough nuclear material to build the nuke.

File photo taken shows that Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen (R) speaks to the media alongside U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates during a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington, January 22, 2009.

 "And Iran having a nuclear weapon, I've believed for a long time, is a very, very bad outcome for the region and for the world," said the top U.S. army officer.

    In a report submitted last month to the UN Security Council, Mohamed El Baradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran still refused to fulfill UN's requirement of stopping its uranium enrichment activity.

    Responding to the IAEA report, Iran has vowed to continue its nuclear work.

    Iran's uranium enrichment program is questioned by many parties. Western countries like the United States claim that Iran intends to secretly develop nuclear weapons, while the UN Security Council also requires Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activity.

    However, Iran insists that its nuclear plan is only for peaceful purposes, and continues its uranium enrichment activity despite the pressure from the western countries and relevant resolutions and sanctions of the United Nations.