Cheney Won't Rule Out Force Against Iran

Vice President Dick Cheney on Saturday renewed Washington's warning to Iran that "all options" are on the table if the country continues to defy U.N.-led efforts to get Tehran to abandon its nuclear programs.

At a joint news conference with Prime Minister John Howard during a visit to Australia, Cheney also said Washington was "comfortable" with Britain's decision to withdraw troops from Iraq, and that it was up to Australia to decide if it would do the same.

He also promised that the case of an Australian who has been detained without trial at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for more than five years was being dealt with as quickly as possible.

Cheney said the United States remains "deeply concerned" about Iran's activities, including the "aggressive" sponsoring of terrorist group Hezbollah and inflammatory statements by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

He said top U.S. officials would meet soon with European allies to decide the next step toward planned tough sanctions against Iran for its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

"We worked with the European community and the United Nations to put together a set of policies to persuade the Iranians to give up their aspirations and resolve the matter peacefully, and that is still our preference," Cheney said.

"But I've also made the point, and the president has made the point, that all options are on the table," he said, leaving open the possibility of military action.

The White House has previously made similar comments.

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported on Thursday that Iran had not only ignored a U.N. Security Council ultimatum to freeze the enrichment program, but had expanded that program by setting up hundreds of centrifuges. Enriched uranium fuels nuclear reactors but, enriched further, is used in nuclear bombs.

The IAEA report came after the expiration Wednesday of a 60-day grace period for Iran to halt uranium enrichment.

Ahmadinejad said on Thursday it was of no importance if countries did not believe Iran's nuclear activities were peaceful, and said the country would resist "all bullies."

On Iraq, Cheney sidestepped a question about whether the White House had asked the British government to redeploy troops into another part of Iraq rather than withdraw them.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has outlined a plan to withdraw about 1,600 troops from southern Iraq in the coming months, and to reduce Britain's 7,100-strong contingent further by late summer.

"They have to make decisions with respect to their forces based upon what they think makes sense," Cheney said.

"They are going to continue to have a major presence there. They are also ... beefing up their operations in Afghanistan," Cheney said. "So we are very comfortable with that decision."

Britain said Friday it will increase its troop strength in Afghanistan to bolster NATO forces battling Taliban militants. British media reported 1,000 additional soldiers would join the more than 5,000 British troops already in Afghanistan.

Cheney declined to say if he had asked Howard during talks held Saturday to add to the 1,400 troops Australian has in and around Iraq.

"Those decisions are obviously to be made by the Australian government based on their considerations as well as ... the conditions on the ground in that part of the world," Cheney said. "It's not for us to stress to our allies what their appropriate response might be."

Further informal talks were believed to be set for when Howard hosted Cheney later Saturday for lunch at his harborside mansion. Cheney was due to leave Australia on Sunday.

Howard said he had expressed Australia's concern at the length of time it was taking to bring David Hicks, a former kangaroo skinner who was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 on the Taliban side, before a military trial.

Cheney said that there had been legal setbacks to the military commission process, but that "Mr. Hicks is near the head of the queue."

"I can assure you we will be doing everything we can to deal with these matters in as expeditious manner as possible," Cheney said.