Military action only option before US if diplomacy fails:Blackwill

New Delhi, Apr 26 (UNI) A military action against a delinquent Iran is the only option left with the US if diplomacy fails to make Tehran comply with international nuclear discipline, a former Ambassador to India and a key advisor to President George Bush on various international issues, said today.

Robert Blackwill, who was the Coordinator for US policies on Iran and Afghanistan and Deputy National Security Advisor, said at a seminar here that Iran would be the most dangerous issue in the future which was ''gathering storm'' leaving only two options before the United States.

One was that the US had to acquiesce Iran's nuclear programme and the other a military action. The former was unlikely while a military option should be put aside in all cases.

''There is no evidence that Iran is willing to compromise on a simple outcome. There are two broad alternatives...If diplomacy fails, it comes down to one of the two choices.

Both are horrible. A US military action is the last thing that this region needs. The attack could produce a volcanic reaction,'' he said at the seminar on 'India's rise as a great power and US-India relations.' The strategic implication of Iran's nuclear programme would be the question--who would follow the Iranian example.

''Would Sunnis accept a Shia nuclear weapon...Would not other States in the region be worried over Iranian nuclear programme. Wouldn't Sunni governments across Middle East replicate.

The real danger would be the effect on the nuclear proliferation regime,'' he said.

This issue could affect both India and the US, he added.

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