The Bush administration is weighing options for a naval build-up in the Persian Gulf as a warning to Iran over its nuclear programme and alleged support for Shia militias in Iraq.

Under the proposed build-up the Pentagon would send an aircraft carrier to join one already in the region. The proposed deployment has been described as a message to Teheran not to take provocative steps, rather than preparation for an attack.

The idea of sending a second aircraft carrier was initially raised earlier this month by the commander of US forces in Iraq, General John Abizaid. But it also comes amid mounting pressure from Saudi Arabia against a withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.

Pentagon officials were yesterday considering Abizaid's request, but few other details were immediately available. A Pentagon spokesman said there would be no comment on military movements.

"The administration has been pretty clear about Iran's role in the region, which is that Iran has to stop being provocative," White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters.

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower has been in the region since September, along with four other ships and submarines.

The navy could move other carriers into the region within six weeks.

However, if the US were to contemplate a military strike, it would need far more than two carriers, said Reva Bhalla, an analyst at Strategic Forecasting Inc. The US deployed five carriers ahead of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Outgoing UN secretary general Kofi Annan said on Tuesday that military intervention in Iran would be "unwise and disastrous," as the Security Council debated a resolution that would impose sanctions on Teheran over its nuclear programme.

The council's latest draft resolution would order all countries to ban the supply of specified materials and technology that could contribute to Iran's nuclear programmes.

Reports that the US is leaning towards an even stronger posture against Iran reflects indications that Washington wants to deepen its military presence in the region. It follows warnings from Saudi Arabia that it would fund Sunni militias in Iraq in the event of a US troop withdrawal.

"The aircraft carrier is a way of assuring the Saudis that the inclination is to do more rather than less, and that we are not going to leave them in the lurch," said John Pike, a military analyst.

The tougher posture on Iran and a temporary troop surge in Iraq would both run counter to the findings of the Iraq Study Group earlier this month which recommended a withdrawal of US combat forces from Iraq by early 2008, and the opening of diplomatic talks with Iran and Syria.

Source: China Daily