Britain in secret talks on striking Iran

The British Government plans to hold secret talks tomorrow with defence chiefs to discuss possible military strike against Iran, UK’s Telegraph has reported.

During tomorrow’s high-level meeting, which will be held in the Ministry of Defence, senior defence chiefs and government officials will discuss consequences of a possible strike on Tehran.

But a Ministry of Defence spokesman denied reports that military officers will meet to discuss possible U.S-led military action against Iran.

Earlier the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice repeated claims that the U.S. was "committed" to dealing with the Islamic Republic diplomatically.

Speaking to ITV1's Jonathan Dimbleby programme, Rice said "we believe that diplomacy has a chance to work but we are going to work with whomever we can, in whatever form we can, diplomatically, to try and bring the Iranians around.

“Iran is not Iraq”

"Iran is not Iraq. I know that's what's on people's minds. The circumstances are different."

"However, the President of the United States doesn't take his options off the table," she added.

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, also interviewed on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, said: "We are working very hard to resolve this by diplomatic means."

Straw conceded UN Security Council member Russia was "anxious" about Iran.

"They are worried about the possibility of the Iranians stirring up trouble for them, but they also share our high suspicions that Iran may be using its civil nuclear capability to develop a nuclear weapon and they do not want that," he said.

But it is widely believed that a possible attack led by the United States and targeting Tehran’s nuclear installations is "inevitable" if its leaders failed to end the current standoff over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities, which America, backed by Israel and the European Union, claims are being used as a guise for hidden plans to produce a nuclear bomb.

Recently, the United Nations Security Council demanded Iran to freeze its uranium program.

Bush’s admin seeks to lobby international support over a possible attack targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, but defence chiefs believe Washington is willing to launch the attack on its own or with the help of Israel.

UK military officials believe a possible strike against Iran would only involve a series of air strikes against the country’s nuclear plants.

Shrugging off mounting international pressure against the country’s nuclear program, Iran's foreign minister reiterated Friday that Iran won’t give up its right to peacefully pursue nuclear technology.

However, Manuchehr Mottaki, who delivered speeches for international audiences on Thursday and Friday, played down the possibility of a confrontation over the matter.

Mottaki ruled out escalation Iran warned against earlier in case it was referred to the United Nations Security Council over its nuclear program.