U.N. atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Sunday the International Atomic Energy Agency has no evidence that Iran is building nuclear weapons. During an interview on CNN, ElBaradei urged the Bush administration to back away from its bellicose statements about Iran.

Mohamed ElBaradei: “I very much have concern about confrontation, building confrontation, Wolf, because that would lead absolutely to a disaster. I see no military solution. The only durable solution is through negotiation and inspection. … My fear, that if we continue to escalate from both sides, that we will end up into a precipice, we will end up into an abyss. As I said, the Middle East right now is in a total mess, to say the least. And we cannot add fuel to the fire.”

Earlier this month, President Bush warned that World War III could begin if Iran obtains the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon. But on Sunday Mohamed ElBaradei said the U.N. has no evidence that Iran is running a nuclear weapons program.

Mohamed ElBaradei: “But have we seen Iran having the nuclear material that can readily be used into a weapon? No. Have we seen an active weaponization program? No. So there is a concern, but there is also time to clarify these concerns.”