World IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : CIA Chief Says Iran Buys Up Weapons

Iran is buying up weapons left and right, including North Korean missiles and Russian planes, and could pose a threat to the United States and its allies within three to five years, CIA Director Robert M. Gates says. Gates put Iran on a short list of potential trouble spots for the United States in the post-Soviet world, in addition to Iraq and Russia. Some of the hard currency being used to buy the weaponry, ironically, comes from U.S. oil companies buying a growing amount of petroleum from Tehran for sale on world markets, said an oil trade monitor.