WASHINGTON, March 17: The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, said on Wednesday he could not rule out the possibility that Iran had an atomic weapons programme.

Speaking to a House subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia, Mr ElBaradei was asked if Iran had taken the step to nuclear weapon ization. "We have not yet seen that, but I am not excluding that possibility," said the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"The jury's still out," he added. Mr ElBaradei said the IAEA had to be very careful with its statements about a country's potential nuclear arsenal. "Our statements can make the difference between war and peace. That's why we have to be careful," he said.

The crisis surrounding Iran's nuclear programme was sparked in Aug 2002 when an exiled opposition group alleged that Iran was hiding a massive underground uranium enrichment plant.

Washington accuses Tehran of having a secret nuclear weapons programme. Iran denies the allegation and says its nuclear programme is for the peaceful generation of electricity. -Reuters