In a report to the UN Security Council on March 7, 2003, Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei said: “the IAEA had found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq. He presented two stark pieces of information on matters that had recently emerged: First, the IAEA has concluded after extensive investigations that the much-publicized aluminum tubes Iraq has attempted to import were not likely to have been related to the manufacture of centrifuges for the enrichment of uranium. Second, the contract alleged to have been made between Iraq and Niger for the import of raw uranium–yellowcake–was not authentic.”
– Hans Blix, Disarming Iraq, Pages 210-211