Pentagon plays down report of new Iran war plan

File picture shows an Iranian soldier standing guard next to a revolutionary mural in Tehran. Despite a loud rattling of sabers over Iran in Iraq, the US military has not embarked on new planning for war, its chief spokesman said.(AFP)

Despite a loud rattling of sabers over Iran in Iraq, the US military has not embarked on new planning for war, its chief spokesman said on Wednesday.

"I just want to be abundantly clear that there are no new directives, there are no new plans in the works, there is no new effort to prepare for a possible war with Iran," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters traveling with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Morrell acknowledged that the Pentagon has contingency plans and "we update them for every possibility."

"But to characterize what is going on now as a new war planning effort against Iran would be wrong," he said.

"There is nothing going on with regards to Iran beyond what we would normally do to update our plans for contingencies with almost any country that poses a threat," he said.

His comments came in response to a CBS News report on Tuesday that said the Pentagon had ordered new options to be drawn up for attacking Iran.

The report also said the State Department had begun drafting an ultimatum that would tell Iran to stop meddling in Iraq or else, if an upcoming visit to Iran by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki did not succeed in ending it.

Gates, during a visit to Mexico Tuesday, flatly denied that the United States was preparing for military attacks on Iran.

And as recently as last week in speech at the US Military Academy at West Point he said a war with Iran would have disastrous consequences.

But Gates also said he believes Tehran is "hell-bent" on acquiring nuclear weapons, and top US military leaders have insistently accused Iran of funding, arming and training Shiite extremists to kill US and coalition troops.

On Wednesday, a State Department report said Iran was the world's "most active" state sponsor of terrorism, one that seeks to build regional influence and drive the United States from the Middle East.

Print | Email | Discuss this article |

USER COMMENTS (0 COMMENTS)

POST A COMMENT

CLICK HERE TO POST A COMMENT

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Security Code *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.