Region | Iran
Any military action against Iran is least desirable, says US officer
The US military is looking at any military action against Iran as "least desirable", and a diplomatic means should be pursued to solve the crisis between Iran and the west over Tehran's nuclear programme and its support to insurgents in Iraq, a US general said.
- By Jumana Al Tamimi, GCC & Middle East Editor
- Published: 00:00 April 17, 2007
- Image Credit: Jumana El Heloueh/Gulf News
- "We will ask the political leadership to pursue everything possible before even considering a military solution." Brigadier-General Robert Holmes, Deputy director of operations for the US Central Command.
Dubai: The US military is looking at any military action against Iran as "least desirable", and a diplomatic means should be pursued to solve the crisis between Iran and the west over Tehran's nuclear programme and its support to insurgents in Iraq, a US general said.
In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Brigadier-General Robert Holmes, deputy director of operations for the US Central Command, also said the recent manoeuvres in the Gulf were not meant to be "escalatory" in the already tense region, but to show Washington's "commitment" to the countries in the region.
The exercises are "not meant to be inflammatory, but in some ways [to] demonstrate to the moderate states that our presence still offers commitment," said Holmes, whose command covers 27 states in the Middle East, west Asia and east Africa.
Tehran earlier this month had announced that US warplanes violated the Iranian airspace in the southwestern province of Khuz-estan, while some American military officials described the Iranian reports as "claims".
Commitment to region
"I will say with regard to Iranian airspace or international or maritime space, that the Central Command is aware of any action that could be perceived as escalatory," Holmes said when asked to comment on the reports.
"Because if you look at our commitment to the region, as we state in our strategic campaign plan, the first and foremost is to achieve stability and security with the other nations of the Middle East.
"The Central Command has been very clear that military action with regard to Iran is the least desirable ... I think the question of going to war or the use of military power should always be the last resort," he added. "We will ask the political leadership to pursue everything possible before even considering a military option."
The Iran crisis snowballed when Tehran recently announced that its nuclear fuel production had reached "industrial scale." The west, however, has reacted with scepticism. Moreover, Tehran's relations with Washington are tense because of what the US says is Iranian support for Shiite and Sunni extremists in Iraq.
Five Iranians were arrested in Arbil earlier this year by the US-led coalition forces. While the US described them as "intelligence elements", Tehran called for the release of its "diplomats".
Iranian officials have repeatedly called for their release and warned that their continued detention will negatively affect the relations with Baghdad. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said there were "signals" they will be released soon.
Holmes said yesterday Iran is seeking to "visit the detainees and the request is in political channels ... and that the decision is with the Iraqi government".
Release of Iranians
Asked whether any agreement on the release of the five Iranians would include the former FBI agent who disappeared on Kish Island last month and believed to be in Iranian custody, the US general replied, "That would be really something that State Department officials would have to look at and that would be outside any military leadership to comment on."
Holmes' interview in Dubai came as radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr pulled his six ministers out of Iraq's beleaguered coalition government as he pushed his demand for a rapid withdrawal of US troops from the country.
The US general said he is "unaware of a timetable [for withdrawal], but what I am aware of is that these things need to be in place," in reference to readiness of both the Iraqi security institution and Iraqi government to handle daily responsibilities and gain the confidence of the Iraqi people.
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