As the United Nations Security Council gets ready to hear the Iran nuclear issue this week, American lawmakers have told the Bush administration that while military action against Tehran remained an option, it should be taken only as a last resort after approval from the Congress.
"I think we can, short of war, stop Iran from having nuclear weapons," remarked Senator Joseph Biden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"You never want it to get that far. If necessary, war is an option but it is not the desirable one," said George Allen, the Republican Senator from Virginia.
Both Biden and Allen stressed that Washington must work with other countries that deal with Iran, while reminding the White House that it would need Congressional approval before any military action is taken to curb Iran's nuclear weapons programme.
"He has to do that," Senator Biden said.
Developments in Iran are being given considerable attention, both by the Bush administration and Congress. Senior State Department officials have ruled out any further 'crisis talks' as suggested by the Russians and have stressed on talks at the United Nations Security Council.
The Bush administration has also taken note of Iran's statement saying that it is no longer interested in a Russian proposal to enrich uranium. Travelling to Indonesia from Chile, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told reporters that the Iranian announcement was not really a surprise.
"They have never really demonstrated interest in the Russian proposal as it was put forward," Rice said.
Bush, for his part, has characterised Iran as a 'grave national security concern', but said it was important to use diplomatic means to deal with Iran's uranium enrichment-related activities.
The word in Washington is that a draft is circulating among the Ambassadors of the Permanent Five -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- and that consultations are continuing, which is a diplomatic code that no agreement has emerged.
Russia and China are not particularly keen on pursuing a tight-fisted approach and have shown very little inclination towards targetted sanctions.
Complete coverage: The Iran vote and after
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