US insists Iran focus is diplomacy, not aggression

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration insisted today its priority was to seek a diplomatic solution to the dispute over Iran's nuclear ambitions, amid reports of stepped-up planning for possible US air strikes.

A senior administration official downplayed prospects for American military action, calling the latest reports "ill-informed," but stopped short of an outright denial.

Iran accused the United States of waging a "psychological war" out of desperation.

The US official spoke after a New Yorker magazine article by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said Washington was stepping up planning for a possible bombing campaign against Iran, despite publicly pushing for a negotiated settlement.

The Washington Post, citing unnamed US officials and independent analysts, also reported the administration was studying options for strikes against Iran as part of a broader strategy of coercive diplomacy.

The newspaper said no attack was likely soon and many specialists inside and outside the US government harbour strong doubts whether such action would be effective. But it said the intent was to show Iran the seriousness of Washington's intentions.

"The president's priority is to find a diplomatic solution to a problem the entire world recognises," the senior official told Reuters.

"And those who are drawing broad, definitive conclusions based on normal defence and intelligence planning are ill-informed and are not knowledgeable of the administration's thinking on Iran."

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told BBC Television a US military strike was "not on the agenda" and any idea that Washington could use tactical nuclear weapons against Iran was "completely nuts."

Iran insists it only wants nuclear technology for power generation. Washington believes Iran is trying to build an atomic bomb. The United States refuses to rule out military options to deal with what it says is one of the world's biggest threats.

Appeals from the United States, already bogged down fighting a bloody insurgency in Iraq, for sanctions on Iran have been frustrated by the reluctance of fellow UN Security Council veto-holders Russia and China to take such action.

Hersh's story, mostly citing unidentified current and former officials, says Bush views Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a "potential Adolf Hitler" and sees "regime change" in Tehran as the ultimate goal.

"This White House believes that the only way to solve the problem is to change the power structure in Iran, and that means war," Hersh quotes a senior Pentagon adviser as saying.

The article says the Bush administration has stepped up clandestine activities in Iran and initiated a series of talks with "a few key senators and members of Congress."

A former senior defence official is quoted saying the planning was based on the belief a bombing campaign would humiliate Iran's leadership and lead the Iranian public to overthrow it, adding that he was shocked to hear the strategy.

The report also said the administration was seriously considering using "bunker buster" tactical nuclear weapons to ensure destruction of Iran's main centrifuge plant at Natanz.

The adviser is quoted saying some senior US officials were considering quitting over the proposed use of nuclear weapons.

"We are not going to discuss military planning," White House spokesman Blair Jones said on Saturday when asked about the New Yorker article.

- REUTERS