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11 April 2006

Rumsfeld Dismisses Reports of Plans To Attack Iran

United States, allies attempting to resolve nuclear standoff diplomatically

Washington – The United States and its allies are working toward a diplomatic solution to resolve the ongoing standoff with Iran over its nuclear program, says Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

“The United States of America is on a diplomatic track.  That is the president's decision.  That's where our European allies are,” Rumsfeld told journalists at an April 11 Pentagon press briefing, where he was joined by Marine General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Rumsfeld’s comments follow several days of media reports alleging that the Pentagon is planning a military strike against Iran’s nuclear sites if the Iranian government refuses to cooperate with the international community’s demand for full disclosure about its covert nuclear programs.  (See related article.)        

Rumsfeld said that the Department of Defense continually develops contingency plans, from military action to humanitarian assistance missions, to meet a host of possible security threats.  “I am always thinking that maybe there's something we've not thought of or something we could do better,” he said.

Reporters asked whether the United States would be able to meet emerging security threats, given the sizeable commitment of its troops in Iraq.  Pace answered that with 2 million active-duty U.S. troops available in addition to those currently deployed in Iraq, the United States has “sufficient personnel, weapons, equipment, you name it, to handle any adversary that might come along.”

“There is obviously concern about Iran,” Rumsfeld said, “It's a country that supports terrorists.  It's a country that has indicated an interest in having weapons of mass destruction.”  (See related article.)       

But, referring to reports that the United States has imminent plans to attack Iran, he said that, “it is just simply not useful to get into fantasyland.”

For more information, see Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and Response to Terrorism.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)