WASHINGTON, April 5: The US intelligence information on Iran is inadequate and may contain misinformation that spy agencies are confusing for solid intelligence, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said on Tuesday. Rep Jane Harman told a Council on Foreign Relations gathering that she and other members of Congress recently received a briefing from US intelligence agencies based on information shared with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Security Council.

Her bottom line: “I remain sceptical _ lots of unanswered questions,” Ms Harman said. “If I were Iran, and I wanted to put out disinformation, it might look a lot like what our government is claiming is information. I can’t tell that’s true, but I can’t tell you it’s not true.”

Ms Harman didn’t provide details on the classified session.

With tensions growing between the US and Iran over its nuclear program, Tehran in the last week has revealed a series of new weapons, including missiles invisible to radar and torpedoes too fast to be avoided. Experts have questioned Iran’s claims about the weapons’ capabilities.

The announcements come as the Bush administration is working toward a diplomatic solution to address its belief that Iran intends to produce nuclear weapons. Iran says it aims only to generate electricity, but it has thus far defied U.N. Security Council demands that it give up key parts of its program.

Last week, the Security Council unanimously approved a statement demanding that Iran suspend uranium enrichment.

When asked about Iran’s recent weapons announcements, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Iran’s ‘aggressive military program and defiant rhetoric are further examples of how the regime is isolating itself’. But he stressed the administration hopes to work toward a diplomatic solution.

Mr McClellan said the United States has a number of concerns about Iran’s behaviour, including its efforts to conceal its nuclear activities, ‘support of terrorism’, use of ‘threatening rhetoric’ and ‘disregard’ for the demands of the international community.

Ms Harman said she does not doubt that Iran is a threat. “The issue is how capable are they and what are the real intentions of Iran’s leaders, and I think the jury is out on both of those,” Ms Harman said.

In recent months, she and others on Capitol Hill have been seeking information about how to deal with Iran. Bruises in Congress and elsewhere in the government remain fresh on the botched pre-war intelligence on Iraq’s never-to-be-found wea-pons of mass destruction.

“I want to be absolutely sure that we base decisions _ especially tough decisions like what are the next steps with Iran, and I surely hope they are diplomatic because I think those are our best options _ on pristine and pure intelligence or the closest we can get to that,” Ms Harman said.—AP