Iran is top threat to U.S., military official says

Reuters -- Iran is the biggest threat to the United States and its allies in the Middle East, surpassing al Qaeda, which is down but not out, a senior U.S. military official said on Friday.

"The biggest threat to the United States and to our interests and to our friends, I might add, has come into focus and it's Iran," said the official, addressing a forum in Washington.

Reporters were allowed to cover the event on condition that the military official not be identified.

Next week, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, is expected to release a report that includes evidence of Iranian nuclear research which makes little sense if not weapons related, Western diplomats said.

The official said he did not believe Iran wanted to provoke a conflict and added he did not know if the Islamic state had decided to build a nuclear weapon.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful and that it is enriching uranium to power reactors for electricity generation.

"I don't know that the Iranians have made the decision to make a nuclear weapon," the official said.

He however added the international community had united against Tehran's nuclear ambitions because of the uncertainty over Iran's future course of action.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington; additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Copyright © 2011 Reuters