On March 19, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said Wednesday that Tehran may have restarted the nuclear weaponization program that a U.S. intelligence report said was halted in 2003, reported by the Associated Press from Muscat, Oman.

Speaking in Oman, Vice President Cheney said, “The important thing to keep in mind is the objective that we share with many of our friends in the region, and that is that a nuclear-armed Iran would be very destabilizing for the entire area.”

But Cheney said questions remain: “What it (the NIE) says is that they have definitely had in the past a program to develop a nuclear warhead…”

He added, “What we do know is that they had then, and have now, a process by which they’re trying to enrich uranium, they’ve been working at it for years.”

Cheney said. “I felt strongly for a long time, and a lot of us have, that Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.”

The vice president’s visit to Oman, part of a 10-day trip to the Mideast, fueled speculation that the United States was ratcheting up military pressure on Iran over its nuclear program. As a quiet U.S. military ally, Oman allows the United States to use four air bases – including one just 50 miles from Iran – for refueling, logistics and storage of pre-positioned military supplies.
Cheney officials said the vice president wanted to visit the sultanate to show U.S. appreciation for its cooperation in fighting terrorism, but that Iran would be a top topic of discussion.