WASHINGTON: The White House on Friday reiterated it would focus on diplomacy to persuade Iran to renounce sensitive nuclear activities after an Israeli official said force was the only option left.

“I am not going to talk about hypotheticals; I think we’ve been pretty clear in recent weeks and months about our approach on Iran,” said Scott Stanzel, a White House spokesman.

“Obviously (...) issues of security in the Middle East are issues that the president did talk with Prime Minister (Ehud) Olmert about this week.” President George Bush’s administration regularly says all options, including force, are “on the table” to counter what it deems an Iranian threat.

But it also says diplomacy is its priority, as well as tightening international sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

“The international community, I believe, is united in the desire to make sure that Iran doesn’t develop a nuclear weapon and have a severe threat that we don’t want to see come to fruition,” the spokesman added.—AFP