Options exist on Iran but diplomacy first - Mullen

NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters) - The nation's top military officer said on Sunday military options existed to try to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon but that diplomatic efforts were the best way forward now.

"We in the Pentagon, we plan for contingencies all the time and certainly there are options which exist" for dealing with the Iran nuclear threat militarily, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a forum at Columbia University in New York.

But he added: "I worry, on the other hand, about striking Iran. I've been very public about that because of the unintended consequences of that. The diplomatic, the engagement piece, the sanctions piece, all those things, from my perspective, need to be addressed to possibly have Iran change its mind about where it's headed." (Reporting by Adam Entous; Editing by Paul Simao)