Powell: No need to use force against Iran
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-06 11:40

WASHINGTON - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Saturday said he saw no need for military action against Iran for its suspected development of nuclear weapons, given strong diplomatic efforts to address the issue.

Powell told Fuji Television in an interview that although military force remained an option, US President Bush had made it clear that he wanted to find a diplomatic solution.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he saw no need to use military forces against Iran for the suspected nuclear weapon program. Colin Powell is seen in this January 19, 2005 file photo during his farewell address at the State Department in Washington. [Reuters]

"Just because there is the possibility you could use military force, I don't see any need to think about that right now because there are ... strong diplomatic efforts under way," Powell told Fuji Television's "Hodo 2001" program.

"The international community has come together to make it clear to Iran that they should not develop nuclear weapons and we are developing the efforts of the European Union ... and we are working with the International Atomic Energy Agency, so the issue of conflict for Iran I don't think arises yet," he told the Japanese television station in a live interview.

Bush last week edged toward backing Europe's offer of incentives to Iran to abandon nuclear arms, but U.S. officials say it could take several weeks to work out agreement on the issue.

The United States would like Britain, France and Germany, the so-called EU3 who are trying to negotiate an end to Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, to back taking Iran to the U.N. Security Council and perhaps imposing U.N. sanctions.

The EU3 have offered Iran economic and political incentives if it abandons its uranium enrichment program, which could produce fuel for nuclear power plants or atomic weapons.

Tehran has temporarily frozen most of the program but has refused to abandon it.

Washington accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran denies that, insisting its aim is the peaceful generation of electricity.

Powell, whose preference for diplomacy over military solutions put him at odds with some hard-liners with the Bush administration over Iraq, said North Korea's nuclear program also posed a threat but he believed diplomatic efforts would succeed in that case.

He said the cases of North Korea and Iran were different from the situation in Iraq, primarily because there was a "hot conflict going on" with then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein over his repeated violations of U.N. resolutions.

"They were violating UN resolution after UN resolution after UN resolution, and it was time to do something about Iraq," he said. "But I think there is time for democratic efforts to produce a solution to the effort with North Korea and with Iran."

He acknowledged that he had differences with some U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, over how much time to give the United Nations to resolve the dispute with Iraq before the United States declared war.

But he insisted that Washington's preference was "always to try to find a peaceful solution to the problem and not look for an opportunity to go to war."