U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Congress on Wednesday that Iran is "perhaps the single greatest challenge" to American national security.
"We are very concerned that the policies of Iran constitute perhaps the single greatest challenge to American security interests in the Middle East and around the world," she told Congress.
The accusation came days after U.S. President George W. Bush warned that a nuclear-armed Iran evoked the threat of "World War III," and Vice President Dick Cheney attacked the Islamic republic's nuclear drive.
Despite the menacing comments from the Bush administration, Rice said Washington remained committed to diplomacy with Iran.
"We are, with our international partners, continuing to pursue a two-track approach on the nuclear issue," she said in her testimony on U.S. on the Middle East to the House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee.
The United States and its European Union partners are working on tougher UN sanctions against Iran given its refusal to renounce uranium enrichment, Rice said.
Tensions are high between the United States and Iran over Washington's accusations that Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons and helping Shiite militias in Iraq that target U.S. troops. Iran denies the charges.
Source: Xinhua
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