'US more likely to attack Iran'

Former CIA head Hayden says military action could be justifiable.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Hayden 311 (photo credit: Associated Press)
Hayden 311
(photo credit: Associated Press)
A US military strike on Iran has become more likely and could be justifiable in the future, former CIA chief Michael Hayden said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."
“My personal view is that Iran left to its own devices will get itself to that step right below a nuclear weapon," said Hayden, "and frankly that will be as destabilizing as their actually having a weapon.”
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The former CIA director stated that an attack on Iran had not originally been a serious option, but in light of Iran's intensified pursuit of nuclear materials, the military option "may not be the worst of all possible outcomes.”
The UN, US and EU all recently passed sanctions against Iran in an attempt to deter the Islamic Republic from continuing to enrich uranium. The Western powers fear Teheran will use the enriched uranium to develop nuclear weapons, while Iran insists that the program's aims are peaceful.
US officials have said military action remains an option if sanctions fail to deter Iran.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Sunday after a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, that Iran might hold talks on the country's nuclear program with the EU in early September. Davutoglu called the news a positive step forward in solving the crisis diplomatically.