U.S., allies stress diplomacy in Iran nuclear row

By Tabassum Zakaria and Stephanie Nebehay

WASHINGTON/GENEVA (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush believes the Iran nuclear issue can be solved diplomatically and that U.S. allies including Israel favor the same approach, the White House said on Wednesday.

The U.S. position was set out after The New York Times reported last week Israel had practiced a possible military strike against Iran.

The European Union's top diplomat also stressed the diplomatic track, saying Western powers would continue a twin policy of sanctions and diplomacy toward Iran over its nuclear program, despite Tehran's warnings it could backfire.

Asked whether Israeli officials were pressuring the U.S. administration to take military action against Iran before Bush leaves office, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the United States and its allies, including Israel, wanted a diplomatic solution.

"President Bush believes that we can solve this issue diplomatically, and that everyone's preference is to solve it diplomatically, not just here in the United States but with our allies and certainly with Israel," Perino said.

The dispute between the West and Tehran over Iran's atomic program has sparked fears of a military confrontation that would disrupt vital oil supplies.

The New York Times Friday quoted U.S. officials as saying Israel had carried out a big military exercise in an apparent rehearsal for a potential strike at Iran's nuclear sites.

Israel, widely believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, has described Iran's nuclear program as a threat to its existence.

Britain told Iran it would suffer growing economic and political isolation if it made the "wrong choice" and failed to comply with U.N. demands to curb sensitive atomic activities.

Bush discussed Iran with representatives of U.N. Security Council members at the White House on Wednesday. "We talked a little bit about Iran and how the United Nations Security Council is sending a focused message that the world really offers Iran a better way forward than isolation if they will verifiably suspend their enrichment programs," he said.

But Tehran remained defiant in the long-running standoff over nuclear work it says is designed to generate electricity but which the West fears is aimed at making bombs.

Its deputy foreign minister was quoted as saying the world's fourth-largest oil producer would withdraw assets from Europe in the face of tightening sanctions against the country.

Another senior official, parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, warned the West against "provoking" the Islamic Republic.

PUNITIVE MEASURES

Tehran said Tuesday that new punitive measures imposed on it this week by the 27-nation European Union over its nuclear plans could damage diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute.