Mullen urges diplomacy for Iranian nukes

WASHINGTON, July 2 (UPI) -- Diplomacy is the preferred option to diffuse Israeli-Iranian tensions over Iran's nuclear program, Adm. Mike Mullen, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, said.

Mullen, who just returned from a trip to Israel and Europe, said during a news briefing Wednesday he wouldn't discuss specifics about speculation surrounding whether Israel would attack Iran's nuclear facilities.

Mullen said concern exists about "the overall stability level in the Middle East."

From a U.S. perspective, "opening up a third front right now would be extremely stressful on us," he said. "That doesn't mean we don't have capacity or reserve, but that would really be very challenging. "

Some published reports said the United States would be drawn into an Israeli-Iranian confrontation because of U.S. support for Israel.

Because "just about every move in that part of the world is a high risk move," all relationships -- diplomatic, financial and economic -- "must be brought to bear with a level of intensity," Mullen said.

Any dialogue would be "across the entirety of our government and their government," he said, "but specifically ... that would need to be led ... politically and diplomatically."

U.S. President George Bush also addressed a possible Israeli attack on Iran, saying, "I have always said that all options are on the table, but the first option for the United States is to solve this problem diplomatically."