Iran to be nuclear-armed by 2011: Russian report

The report also says that the current Govt will neither use the weapons nor transfer the technology to others.

A report by a board of Russian presidential security advisers says that Iran will be armed with nuclear weapons by 2011.

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"The period is six months to two years according to a few experts, while the majority tends to cite the time of five years," concluded the Council for Foreign and Defence Policy, which advises the Kremlin.

The findings also state that the present Iranian government will neither use weapons of mass destruction nor transfer nuclear technology to other countries, especially to terrorist organisations.

At the same time, the panel warned that Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons would prompt other countries in the Middle East to strive towards nuclear armament.

US fears that Iran has used technology from the Russian construction of a nuclear power plant at the Gulf port of Bushehr for a secret weapons programme.

Russia insists that the work has been fully supervised by international authorities and conforms to all regulations.