The military option against Iran is available if needed, US Secretary of Defense
Leon Panetta said on Sunday in an interview with ABC News’ This
Week.
“The fundamental premise is that neither the United States nor the
international community is going to allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon,” he
said. “We will do everything we can to prevent them from developing a
weapon.”
Panetta referenced comments made earlier this month by US
Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro that Washington has a military contingency
plan, should diplomatic talks fail to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear
program. “It would be preferable to solve this diplomatically and through the
use of pressure, than to use military force,” Shapiro said. “But that doesn’t
mean that option isn’t fully available. Not just available, it’s ready. The
necessary planning has been done to ensure that it’s ready.
“The
international community has been unified,” he said. “We’ve put very tough
sanctions on them as a result of that... We are prepared for any sort of
contingency in that part of the world.”
Panetta's comments on Iran begin at 14:21 mark
During the interview, the US secretary of defense also addressed the issues of
NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan as well as the growing threat of cyber
warfare.
Panetta met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak at the Pentagon
earlier this month, with the aim of coordinating strategy with the US ahead of
the second round of talks between Western powers and Iran in Baghdad last
week.
A senior US official was quoted on Saturday by Israel Radio as
saying that the US was planning on increasing sanctions on Iran until it ceased
enriching uranium.