US: Strike can’t stop Iran’s N-program

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has rejected the idea of any future military action against Iran, saying no strike can stop Tehran’s nuclear program.

Gates told a conference on Tuesday that military action would not stop Iran’s nuclear program and instead it would only make it deeper and would strengthen the country’s unity.

The US defense chief said he believed diplomacy was the best way to resolve Iran’s nuclear issue.

Gates made the comments in response to Israeli pressure on the Obama administration to take a tougher action against Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting the US earlier this week, called on the West to adopt severe measures against Iran, saying, “The only time Iran suspended its program was in 2003, when it believed it faced a military action.”

The Israeli prime minister also told US Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday that only a military threat can deter Iran from building a nuclear weapon, arguing that economic sanctions have failed to persuade Iran to stop its nuclear program.

While discounting Israeli and US military threats as unwise and suicidal, Iranian officials and commanders have repeatedly issued stern warning that in case of such an attack, the response would be immediate, severe, and wide-ranging.

Israel, widely believed to be the sole possessor of nuclear arms in the Middle East, has repeatedly voiced its determination to halt Iran’s nuclear program, even through military means.

Tel Aviv has rejected global demands to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and does not allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to observe its controversial nuclear program.

Unlike Israel, Iran is a signatory to NPT and has declared that it has no plans to develop a military nuclear program.

Washington and its western allies, however, accuse Iran of developing a military nuclear program and used this pretext to pressure the UN Security Council to impose a fourth round of sanctions against Iran’s financial sectors in June.

Tehran has strongly refuted the charges, saying it has the right to enrich uranium to produce fuel for peaceful purposes.

Tehran says all its nuclear activities have been under the full supervision of the IAEA and the agency has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence to indicate that the Islamic Republic’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.