Ex-CIA chief says strike on Iran seems more likely now

Washington: A former CIA director says military action against Iran seems more likely because no matter what the US does diplomatically, Tehran keeps pushing ahead with its suspected nuclear programme.

Michael Hayden, a CIA chief under President George W. Bush, says that during his tenure a strike was "way down the list" of options. But he tells CNN's "State of the Union" that such action now "seems inexorable."

He predicts Iran will build its programme to the point where it's just below having an actual weapon. Hayden says that would be as destabilising to the region as the real thing.

US officials have said military action remains an option if sanctions fail to deter Iran.

Iran says its nuclear work is for peaceful purposes such as power generation.