DOW JONES NEWSWIRES U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said Friday that a nuclear-armed Iran could be very dangerous - and the U.S. needs to do everything it can to prevent it happening.
He also reiterated that all options for dealing with Iran remained on the table - a phrase President George W. Bush repeatedly has invoked when asked about the possibility of using force against Iran.
In an interview with ABC News in Sydney, Cheney said: "A nuclear-armed Iran ...clearly could do significant damage. And so I think we need to continue to do everything we can to make certain they don't achieve that objective."
Cheney said that the U.S. hopes to be able to solve the problem diplomatically. "The president has indicated he wants to do everything he can to resolve it diplomatically. That's why we've been working with the E.U. and going through the United Nations with sanctions."
The U.S. and other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany, are meeting in London Monday to discuss a new sanctions resolution to put before the U.N. Security Council. This follows the issuance Thursday of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency report saying that said Iran has ignored a Security Council resolution to freeze uranium enrichment, a possible step toward nuclear weapons. Cheney also underscored that options other than diplomacy existed. "The president has also made it clear that we haven't taken any options off the table," Cheney said.
Asked in an interview with The Weekend Australian about the position of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has said that the only thing worse than a confrontation with Iran would be a nuclear-armed Iran - Cheney said: "I would guess that John McCain and I are pretty close to agreement."
(END) Dow Jones Newswires February 23, 2007 12:40 ET (17:40 GMT)
Ping to post 71.