Merkel says no all clear for Iran after U.S. report

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday a U.S. intelligence report saying Tehran had stopped an active nuclear weapons program in 2003 was not an excuse to give the Islamic Republic the "all clear".

"In terms of talks about a new resolution on sanctions, the (U.S. intelligence) report has not accelerated things, if anything it has slowed it down a bit," Merkel told a news conference.

"But that is not a signal that we should give Iran the all clear," she said, adding the dual strategy of offering Tehran incentives and urging it to comply with U.N. Security Council demands was still the right way forward.

Some Western diplomats fear the U.S. intelligence report, which also said Iran was still striving to develop enrichment abilities that could be put into military use later, might make it harder to maintain pressure on Iran.

The United States and some other Western nations believe Iran is developing technology to build a nuclear bomb, a charge Tehran denies. It says it needs atomic technology to meet booming civilian demand for power.

Merkel also said Syria was not doing enough to help Lebanon elect a new president. The country has been without a president since November when the term of Syrian-backed Emile Lahoud expired.

Lebanon has repeatedly postponed the vote amid differences between the Western-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition over the formation of a national unity government and drafting a new law for a election that is due next year.

(Reporting by Noah Barkin, Writing by Madeline Chambers; editing by Sami Aboudi)