Has Iran鈥檚 nuclear programme marked it out as the next military target for the US? Only days into the new administration, Vice-President Dick Cheney has been making hawkish comments, while reports say that the US is conducting secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran. This has fuelled fears that the US is losing patience with Europe鈥檚 diplomatic approach to Iran and is now considering military options.
In November the UK, Germany and France negotiated an agreement with Iran to freeze its uranium enrichment activities. But Cheney, speaking on MSNBC radio on 20 January, identified the country as one of the world鈥檚 top potential trouble spots. 鈥淚ran is right at the top of the list,鈥� he said.
At the same time an article in The New Yorker magazine reported that the US was identifying targets for potential military strikes. The White House said the story was 鈥渞iddled with errors鈥� but did not deny the central allegation.
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Last week the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, wrote that a negotiated solution would be 鈥渋n the best interests of Iran and of the international community鈥�. And after meeting US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, he said the US had been 鈥渁ctively backing our diplomacy鈥�.