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Christiane Amanpour: Iraq says it sought weapons components

CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour
CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Iraqi officials have told U.N. weapons inspectors that Iraq tried to import aluminum tubes in violation of U.N. sanctions, CNN has learned.

But the Iraqi officials said the tubes were not intended for use in a nuclear weapons program, as U.S. and British officials have charged.

CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour spoke Monday from London with CNN anchor Bill Hemmer about Iraq's admission.

AMANPOUR: Officials (say) they are awaiting ... further information by the time of the December 8 declaration -- when Iraq has to come up with a full, formal and credible list of information about its weapons of mass destruction program.

But what we've been told by a high-ranking official is that Iraq, during meetings with U.N. weapons inspectors in Baghdad two weeks ago, did admit to having tried to import aluminum tubes. This would amount to a violation of the existing U.N. sanctions.

When Iraq made this confirmation, it did say to these officials that these tubes were not intended for any nuclear weapons program. Rather, the tubes would have been intended for (Iraq's) conventional rocket program.

The Iraqi officials said that their efforts to procure these aluminum tubes -- they tried about six times -- were unsuccessful. They had not managed to get these tubes, according to the official who spoke to CNN.

The official also said that the Iraqis presented details of what they said were the diameter, the thickness (and) the size specifications of the aluminum tubes. And weapons experts are saying that if this does turn out to be true -- that these sizes they were trying to procure are as Iraq says they were -- then these tubes could not have been used as centrifuges for the enrichment of uranium.

As I say, the officials are waiting for more and detailed explanations and more information. But this is the first time we're hearing weapons inspectors or officials close to them saying that they got certain, substantial information out of the Iraqis ahead of this December 8 declaration.

The whole issue of these aluminum tubes, when (the issue) first surfaced about three months ago, was used by the U.S. and ... British administrations (as) evidence that Iraq was trying to build and ... increase its nuclear weapons capabilities.

Again, Iraq is saying that it did try to import these tubes, it was not successful, but that they were not intended for nuclear weapons production, rather for production of their conventional missiles.



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