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Pentagon official prefers no war on Iran

The Pentagon's top officer said in remarks broadcast on Monday that he would prefer to avoid a new regional war involving Iran.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 11:23 May 5, 2008
  • Gulf News

Occupied Jerusalem: The Pentagon's top officer said in remarks broadcast on Monday that he would prefer to avoid a new regional war involving Iran.

Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also said that US military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq would make it difficult to launch an attack on Iran.

"I actually am very hopeful that we don't get into a position where we have to get into a conflict," Mullen told Israel's Channel Ten television.

"It would be a very significant challenge for the United States right now to get into a third conflict in that part of the world," Mullen added.

Mullen's comments came as Washington pushed for efforts to stop Iran's disputed nuclear agenda through new UN Security Council sanctions.

"I certainly share the concern about Iran and about the leadership, and I think it is very important that we increase as much as possible the financial pressure, the diplomatic pressure, the political pressure, and at the same time keep all the military options on the table," Mullen said.

The United States has accused Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons, a charge that Iran has repeatedly denied.

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