Senators refuse to rule out Iran attack

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A top U.S. Senate Republican says military action against Iran is "inevitable" unless the international community gets serious about sanctions.

Appearing on CBS News' "Face the Nation," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said, "A military engagement with Iran is a very dangerous thing, and nobody wants to go down that road."

However, international sanctions are not working, he added, "and they will never work until the world gets more serious about them. And if the sanctions don't work, military operations against Iran, I believe, will be inevitable unless the world community steps up."

Graham cited Russian and Chinese vetoes in the U.N. Security Council as Western nations attempt to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said he supported sanctions, including unilateral sanctions recently imposed by the United States, but military action could not be "taken off the table."

However, the administration should "dial down the rhetoric," he said. "We ought to make it clear that there's always a military option if Iran goes nuclear but that we ought to just speak more softly. Because these hot words coming out of the administration, this hot rhetoric plays right into the hands of the fanatics in Iran."