SYDNEY, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney tells an Australian newspaper that military force might be needed to stop Iran's military program.
Cheney, on a state visit to Australia, said in an interview with The Weekend Australian that a nuclear-armed Iran would combine state-sponsored terrorism with nuclear weapons.
"You get various estimates of where the point of no return is," Cheney said. "Is it when they possess weapons or does it come sooner, when they have mastered the technology but perhaps not yet produced fissile material for weapons?"
Australia is one of the Bush administration's closest allies. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned against using military force against Iran and plans to withdraw troops from Iraq.
Kevin Rudd, leader of the opposition to Prime Minister John Howard, has called for the withdrawal of Australian troops. Cheney said that "would clearly be a disappointment from our standpoint."
