WASHINGTON, Nov 10: The White House declined late Friday to directly respond to an interview in which Osama bin Laden claimed to have nuclear weapons, but said through a spokesman that US officials view such a threat “seriously.”

“We’ve said that we’ve suspected all along that this organization has been trying to acquire chemical, biological or nuclear weapons,” said White House spokesman Ken Lisaius.

“We take these past statements seriously and we will do everything we can to prevent their acquisition of these materials,” said Lisaius.

However, Lisaius did not comment on the likelihood that Osama bin Laden may currently possess such an arsenal.

His comments came in response to an interview in Pakistan in which Osama bin Laden claimed to be in possession of nuclear and chemical weapons, and threatened to use them against the United States. Osama bin Laden told Dawn in an interview that the nuclear weapons would be used as a “deterrent against a US attack”.

“I wish to declare that if America used chemical or nuclear weapons against us then we may retort with chemical and nuclear weapons,” Osama was quoted as saying in the interview in Kabul.—AFP