Talk of military attack on Iran is premature

The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said that talk of military strikes against Iran’s nuclear programme could prove to be “premature” and advised Israel that it could also be counterproductive.

CNN’s “Farreed Zakaria GPS” General Martin Dempsey said US officials had not been convinced that Iran was pursuing the development of nuclear weapons.

Dempsey also said that economic and diplomatic sanctions continued to take a toll on Iran and claimed it was be too early to decide a time for a military option.

A nuclear-armed Iran could be an existential threat according to Israel who has said it was pondering an attack on Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure.

Iran responded to the threat by warning that the narrow strait through which oil tankers sail in and out of the gulf could be cut off.

An Israel strike could delay Iran’s nuclear development for a couple of years according to American officials but Dempsey said that some targets could be beyond Israel’s reach.

Dempsey said he was confident that the concerns of US officials were understood by Israeli officials.