Military options against Iran limited: US intelligence head

Washington - America's top intelligence official has said military options against Iran were far more limited than Israeli leaders had suggested.

James R. Clapper, director of National Intelligence, told the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday that "an Israeli bombing attack might only set back Iran's nuclear development programme by one to two years".

He told the panel that US intelligence agencies were unable to calculate with precision how much damage an Israeli strike might incur on Iranian targets or even how much delay it can cause to Tehran's nuclear programme.

"There's a lot of imponderablesincluding the targets chosen, how ordnance is used and how quickly Iran might recover."

He also said he did not believe that Israel had decided to attack Iran's uranium enrichment plants, adding the US intelligence community believed that Iran has not decided to build nuclear weapons but may "pursue the technology that might allow" it to do so.

The remarks came amid a concern in the US and several Western countries that Israel may launch a preemptive air strike against Iran.

US and European Union have tightened economic sanctions against Iran's oil and banking sectors to halt Iran's nuclear programme which Washington alleges has a military end. Tehran denies this saying its atomic plants were for peaceful usage.

Israel also accused Iran of scheming terror strike to assassinate Israelis living in Thailand, India and Georgia, adding to the standoff with Iran.