UN: Iran seeking nuclear weapons

"My gut feeling is that Iran definitely would like to have the technology"

And Iran is working hard on obtaining that technology that would enable them the ability to produce nuclear weapons. Maybe the North Koreans are helping out the Iranians. Reuters

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran wants the ability to build nuclear weapons to gain the reputation of a major power in the Middle East, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a BBC interview broadcast on Wednesday.

Tehran denied the assertion. But International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei told Iran at an IAEA meeting that it would not be trusted unless "you go the extra mile" and lift restrictions on U.N. inspections.[...]

ElBaradei said the Islamic Republic sees a nuclear breakout ability as an "insurance policy" against perceived threats from neighboring countries or the United States.

"My gut feeling is that Iran definitely would like to have the technology ... that would enable it to have nuclear weapons if they decided to do so," he told the BBC.[...]

"(Iran) wants to send a message to its neighbors, it wants to send a message to the rest of the world: yes, don't mess with us, we can have nuclear weapons if we want it," said ElBaradei.