Senior Military Leader: US Forces Ready to Carry Out Assault Against Iran

Last month, Britain’s ambassador to Iran was expelled from the country following attacks on the British Embassy. The US is also involved in a standoff over a downed spy drone, which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has refused to return despite America’s requests.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said that the US military had reached a point where they were ready to execute force against Iran if necessary.

In an interview with US media in Afghanistan he said: “We are examining a range of options. I’m satisfied that the options that we are developing are evolving to a point that they would be executable if necessary.”

His comments come just days after Leon Panetta, US secretary of defence, said “no options were off the table” in stopping Iran develop a nuclear weapon.

Gen Dempsey said he had been quietly leading behind the scenes preparations for an attack against Tehran but said a war with the nation would be a “tragedy”.

“My biggest worry is that it may miscalculate our resolve. Any miscalculation could mean that we are drawn into conflict and that would be a tragedy for the region and the world,” he said.

Asked whether the US military is collecting information on the Middle Eastern nation via spy drones, Gen Dempsey said it would be “imprudent” for them not to attempt to find out what they were doing but stopped short of saying they had used unmanned aircraft.

“If you are asking are we gathering intelligence against Iran in a variety of means, the answer is of course,” he said. “It would be imprudent of us not to understand what a nation which has declared itself an adversary of the United States is doing.”

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