Accusing Iran of having links with al-Qaeda,a top American military commander has said a nuclear-powered Tehran is unacceptable to the US but insisted that the Obama Administration is not looking for a military solution to the issue. "Their (Iran) achieving a nuclear weapon capability is unacceptable and incredibly destabilising," Admiral Mike Mullen,Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,said during an interaction with local business community in Detroit. Identifying this as an enormous challenge,Mullen said: "We're working hard to make sure either one of those outcomes doesn't occur,because I think either will be very bad for all of us." Mullen said the US is still pursuing a diplomatic approach. Referring to the financial sanctions placed on Iran in June,he said military intervention is not an option that the US armed forces currently want to engage in. The top American commander said there has been no dialogue between the two countries since 1979. "We don't know each other very well. You may think you know enough to understand the consequences,but I worry about miscalculation here. I worry about a small incident rolling itself into something that could get out of hand," he said. Apprehending that Iran's attainment of nuclear weapons would likely lead to a strike against Israel,Mullen said the Israeli government has a "complete belief" that Iran has that in mind. "(Iran) is a regime that is a state sponsor of terrorism," he said,adding that it has links to al-Qaeda and extremists in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It is an existential threat. (Nuclear) capability in hand is an existential threat to Israel," Mullen said. Hopeful that the issue can be resolved on diplomatic terms,Mullen said ending Iran's nuclear pursuit is a very difficult and complex problem. "I think Iran is on path to achieve that capability and we need to be mindful of that," he said. "It's a very critical part of the world. It's a world that is reasonably unstable. And Iran continuing to expand on that does not bode well for anybody in the world," Mullen said.
