CONCORD, NH -- Acknowledging some good news in a recently released National Intelligence Estimate saying Iran stopped actively pursuing nuclear weapons in 2003, Mitt Romney said the country remains a threat, even with only a peaceful nuclear energy program. "They, of course, are continuing making the ingredients which would be used in a nuclear weapon," Romney told Politics Nation today. "If they had stopped both I would feel a great deal more confident about their intentions. But their continuing to produce enriched uranium is of great concern to the world."

Romney sees one positive aspect to the report: The NIE "gives the perspective that [Iran] will not have a weapon in the imminent future," he said. "Perhaps by 2008 or 2009 they would be able to have a weapon if they were to try and pursue that, and I think we therefore have to recognize that a nation that has a virtually unlimited supply of free energy enriching uranium is a clear source of threat."

But he contended the world's approach to Iran is working. "The suggestion of the Intelligence Estimate is on track by saying that the sanctions of the world do have an impact," he said. "And I believe that as Iran continues to develop and produce enriched uranium that we should continue to pursue a course of economic sanctions and diplomatic sanctions in an effort to communicate to the Iranian people the peril for following the course for nuclear ambition."

No matter what the NIE said, Romney promised it would not have sole bearing on his outlook on Iran. "My perspective on matters of importance is that you don't look for a homogenized view. You look for people who have different perspectives and you want to listen to the debate between them and see the basis of their thinking."

"Were I president, I would not simply read a report and say, 'Oh!' I would instead insist on having people with the most objective and first-hand information presenting their perspectives. And if no one disagreed I'd look for someone who disagreed, even if I had to find them from outside the agency," he said.

While President Bush has faced criticism for shunning any form of dissent within his own administration, Romney said he would not fall into that trap. "I'd want to hear voices of disagreement to make sure that we'd considered all the options and all the possibilities," he said. The distinction, for a candidate whose justification for running hinges on competent management, seems a subtle distancing between Romney and the unpopular Bush Administration. The distinction is a safe one to make, however: It is based more on approach than on any policy disagreements.

Romney, finishing a multi-day campaign swing through New Hampshire where he enjoys a wide 15.3 percentage point advantage in the latest RCP New Hampshire Average, heads to Louisiana and Texas tomorrow for private events. On Thursday, he will address an invited crowd at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University in a widely-anticipated address on the role of faith in America.