Merkel seen hesitant on Iran strike

KRANJ, Slovenia, June 11 (UPI) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel supports new EU economic sanctions on Iran, but seems to be balking at military action as an option, observers say.

Merkel voiced strong approval of Tuesday's recommendations in Slovenia by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, which seek to impose tighter restrictions on Iran's ability to move financial assets through Western banks if it doesn't make concessions on its nuclear program, which the U.S. believes is designed to eventually produce weapons.

But, The New York Times reported Wednesday, Merkel is balking at U.S. President George Bush's desire for Germany and other Western European nations to go further as individual countries, in essence, mirroring Washington's insistence that military force not be taken off the table as a possibility.

Any further measures, she said, "need to be negotiated in the Security Council of the United Nations. The more countries are in on this, the more effective the impact will be on Iran," the Times reported her as saying.