Top US military chief warns Israeli attack on Iran 'would be destabilizing'

Monday, 20 February 2012 17:10

Washington, Feb 20 : A top US military commander officer has urged Israel to hold off from launching any attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, warning that such a move at this time 'would be destabilizing.'

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said in a television interview with CNN that it was 'not prudent at this point' to attack Iran.

"I wouldn't suggest we've persuaded them that our view is the correct view. The two countries were having a 'candid, collaborative conversation', which was continuing," Dempsey added.

According to The Guardian, Dempsey acknowledged Israel's sense of urgency that action was needed before Tehran moved its nuclear facilities beyond reach, deep underground.

Israel's Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, who is believed to favour an early military strike, has termed this the 'zone of immunity'.

Dempsey said it was premature to "decide that the time for a military option was upon us".

He also stressed that economic sanctions imposed by the international community and diplomacy were beginning to have an effect.

Dempsey's concerns were echoed by British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who said it was 'not a wise thing at this moment' for Israel to launch military action against Iran.

"I don't think a wise thing at this moment is for Israel to launch a military attack on Iran," Hague said.

"I think Israel like everyone else in the world should be giving a real chance to the approach we have adopted on very serious economic sanctions and economic pressure and the readiness to negotiate with Iran. That's what we need to make a success of," he added. (ANI)