Mullen: Iran not responsive on nuclear issue

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Mullen: Iran not responsive on nuclear issue
By Anne Gearan - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Dec 20, 2009 12:59:28 EST

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT — The top U.S. military officer said Sunday he does not assume Iran’s brief seizure of an Iraqi oil well is part of an orchestrated plan in Tehran to threaten its neighbors.

Adm. Mike Mullen also said he’s worried about “the clock now running” on the Obama administration’s efforts at trying to keep the lines of communication open with Iran. The administration had given a rough deadline of the end of 2009 for Iran to respond to an offer of engagement and show that it would allay world concerns about its nuclear program.

Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, supports that offer, and has said any military strike on Iran, whether by Israel or the United States, should be a last resort.

The U.S. and others worry that Iran’s program is intended to develop nuclear weapon. Iran says its work is peaceful and designed to generate electricity but has defied international demands to prove it is not trying to build an atomic bomb.

The administration is now beginning a push to get international support for additional penalties against Iran as a result, and Mullen suggested he thinks that backing was there.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/12/ap_mullen_iran_122009/