The United States is not preparing a preemptive attack on Iran in spite of an increase in bellicose rhetoric from Washington, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Monday.
U.S. Commander of Central Command Admiral William Fallon told the Financial Times that while dealing with Iran was a "challenge," a strike was not "in the offing."
"None of this is helped by the continuing stories that just keep going around and around and around that any day now there will be another war which is just not where we want to go," said Fallon, who commands military operations in the Middle East.
"Getting Iranian behavior to change and finding ways to get them to come to their senses and do that is the real objective. Attacking them as a means to get to that spot strikes me as being not the first choice in my book," he said.
But Fallon did not rule out the possibility of a strike at some point.
Recently, President George W. Bush and his top officials have made a string of tough statements that have fuelled speculation that the U.S. was preparing to strike Iran over its nuclear program.
Fallon declined to comment specifically on whether the U.S. rhetoric was feeding the speculation.
"Generally, the bellicose comments are not particularly helpful," said Fallon.
"We have to make sure that there is no mistake here on the part of the Iranians about our resolve in tending to business in the region," said he.
"There has got to be some combination of strength and willingness to engage. How to come up with the right combination of that is the real trick." he said.
According to the report, several senior incumbent and retired military officers had told the Financial Times that the Pentagon believed striking Iran at this point would be a strategic mistake, as even a limited air strike could spark a broader conflict.
Source: Xinhua
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