By The Associated Press
Last update - 23:13 30/04/2009
Courtesy Of Haaretz NewsPaper
United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that utilizing the military option in efforts to force Iran to abandon its controversial nuclear program would have merely temporary, ineffective results, and that imposing sanctions against the Islamic Republic made more sense.
Gates told Senate appropriators that a military attack on Iran would merely send the country's nuclear program further underground.
Instead, he said that the United States and its allies must convince Tehran that its nuclear ambitions would spark an arms race that would leave the country less secure.
Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. should work together with its allies to come up with tougher international sanctions.
The defense secretary also said the U.S. should pursue partnerships with Russia on missile defense programs in the region to further isolate Iran and to give Tehran economic and diplomatic reasons to voluntarily abandon its nuclear interests.
Israel, the United States and other Western nations believe that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at covertly developing atomic weapons. Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, insists that the program is for civilian purposes only.
Gates' comments echoed similar remarks by President Shimon Peres, who said Wednesday that attacking Iran would only postpone its ability to build an atom bomb.
"I'm not sure that bombing the nuclear facilities is the best solution. You know, the moment there are centrifuges, you can destroy the centrifuges. You cannot destroy the know-how to create centrifuges. You can postpone," Peres told Channel 10.
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