US refuses to commit to avoid attacking Iran

The United States on Tuesday International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei's call to state explicitly that it has no plans to launch a military strike against Iran. The spokesman for the State Department in Washington asserted that at this point the burden of proof lies with the Iranians, and they must follow through with their commitments to the international community. ElBaradei claimed that an announcement in which the US insists it would not attack, might encourage Iran to cease its nuclear development plans, according to Israel Radio. Robert Joseph, the US Secretary of State's aide said last week that he believed Iran would not back down from its nuclear ambitions and would even risk UN sanctions.