"American intelligence agencies do not know nearly enough about Iran's nuclear weapons program" to help policymakers at a critical time, a report issued by the House Intelligence Committee was quoted as saying.

Information "regarding potential Iranian chemical weapons and biological weapons programs is neither voluminous nor conclusive," and little evidence had been gathered to tie Iran to al-Qaida and to the recent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon, it said.

The report warned the intelligence community to avoid the mistakes made regarding weapons of mass destruction (WMD) before the Iraq war, noting that Iran could easily be engaged in "a denial and deception campaign to exaggerate progress on its nuclear program as Saddam Hussein apparently did concerning his WMD programs."

The panel's report came at a time when the Bush administration was scrambling for leverage in its effort to force Iran to suspend its nuclear program.