President Ahmadinejad declared victory over Washington today after a US intelligence report concluded that the Iranian regime had halted its nuclear weapons programme four years ago.

The White House insisted that the report would not alter the international community’s policy on Iranian nuclear ambitions, but Moscow was quick to point out that there was never any proof Iran was trying to create nuclear weapons.

Mr Ahmadinejad responded to the publication of the report by holding a triumphant rally in Ilam, western Iran, where he addressed the US directly.

“Today, the Iranian nation is victorious but you are empty-handed,” he said.

“If you want to start a new political game, the united Iranian nation will resist you and will not retreat one step from its programme . . . We will continue our nuclear programme and we will not give it up.”

The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) released on Monday appears to have removed the casus belli for an American airstrike against Iran. But President Bush yesterday refused to rule out the prospect of military action and insisted that Iran remained a genuine threat to world peace

In a White House press conference, where he was bombarded with questions about the implications for his own credibility, Mr Bush declared he had seen nothing to change either his own mind or Washington's policy on Iran's nuclear ambitions.

“Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon,” he said.

At his last press conference on October 17 Mr Bush said that anyone “interested in avoiding World War III” should back his efforts to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapon.

Yesterday, he struck a defiant note, claiming that this week's National Intelligence Estimate should be regarded as a vindication of - and a reason to continue taking - a tough stance towards Tehran.

“I view this report as a warning signal that they had the programme, they halted the programme,” said the President. “The reason why it's a warning signal is they could restart it.”

He has record low approval ratings and increasingly appears a marginalised figure in US politics with his name being mentioned only twice in a two hour Republican presidential debate last week.

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