05-17-2012
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http://www.businessinsider.com, Robert Johnson
Maayan Lubell at Al Arabiya reports Ambassador Dan Shapiro said that while it would be best to diplomatically resolve concerns over Iran's nuclear program without using military force, "[T]hat doesn’t mean that option is not fully available - not just available, but it’s ready. The necessary planning has been done to ensure that it’s ready.”
There has been speculation over whether Israel will lead an attack on Iran, with or without U.S. knowledge or consent, but many analysts believe the only way to setback Iran's nuclear program is with a full on American assault.
While Iran says it's sick and tired of U.S. threats and pressures, Shapiro told an Israeli newspaper America was “guaranteeing that the military option is ready and available to the president at the moment he decides to use it.”
Scott Peterson at The Christian Science Monitor reports that Iran is going to the Baghdad talks with the hope of getting some of the sanctions imposed against it lifted, but that there is doubt "about whether the US can – or even intends to – ease sanctions no matter what steps Iran agrees to take."