WASHINGTON—The White House Friday sidestepped questions about an Israeli threat to attack Iranian nuclear sites if it continues uranium enrichment, saying it would not respond to "hypotheticals."
Israeli Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz was quoted as telling an Israeli newspaper that an attack on Iran looks "unavoidable" given the apparent failure of sanctions to deny Tehran technology with bomb-making potential.
"The world 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," White House spokesman Scott Stanzel told reporters.
But asked specifically whether the United States would support an Israeli strike on Iran, he said, "I'm not going to talk about hypotheticals. I think we've been pretty clear in recent weeks and months about our approach on Iran."
The Bush administration has repeatedly said it wants to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomacy but has made clear that military options remain on the table as a last resort.
Iran has defied Western pressure to abandon its uranium enrichment projects, which it says are for peaceful electricity generation.
Tehran has also threatened to retaliate against Israel, believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, and U.S. targets in the Gulf if there is any attack on Iran.
Bush held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert earlier this week at the White House and both leaders reiterated that Iran could not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.
Mofaz's threat against Iran was the most explicit from a member of Olmert's government, which like the Bush administration, has preferred to hint at a possible use of force.
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