The US defence secretary, Robert Gates, has given the White House what has been described as a "wakeup" call over its lack of a credible long-term plan on how to prevent Iran attaining the ability to produce nuclear weapons, it was reported today.
A three-page memo written by Gates, below, to General James Jones, Barack Obama's top adviser on foreign affairs, says the administration has yet to come up with an effective strategy should Iran continue to enrich nuclear fuel and have all the other elements of a weapons programme in place. The memo was described by officials to the New York Times.
According to the newspaper, the document was drawn up in January, shortly after the passing of a deadline set by Obama for Iran to respond to offers of greater dialogue over the nuclear issue.
The memo comes as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, warns that if new United Nations sanctions are not imposed on Iran's nuclear programme soon there is a risk of regional conflict that will "put the world in a more precarious position within six months to a year". In the interview with the Financial Times, Clinton called for sanctions "as soon as feasible".
She said the "alternative is to permit them to continue pursuing nuclear weapons, either actual production or full capacity, which will trigger an arms race among their neighbours and would put one of the most volatile regions in the world at risk and could even trigger a conflict. And I don't believe that that's a chance worth taking".
With Tehran refusing to budge from its production of 20% enriched uranium, which it insists is solely to generate civilian nuclear power, efforts have been building within Washington to devise a road-map for action – including military options – should Iran get closer to nuclear capability.
At a Senate hearing last week, Pentagon officials said Iran could have sufficient bomb-grade fuel – normally about 90% enriched uranium – for one nuclear weapon within a year, although it might take up to five years actually to create a bomb.
Iran has also stepped up the rhetoric. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today boasted about the country's army. "Today, our armed forces have so much power that no enemy will harbour evil thoughts about laying its hands on Iranian territory," he said at an annual army parade.
On Saturday, the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sought to turn US pressure over the nuclear issue back on Washington. At a conference in Tehran on nuclear disarmament, he told delegates drawn from countries that included China, Russia, France and Turkey, that the real villains were the US and Israel, both nuclear powers.
He accused the US, which he called the "sole nuclear offender", a reference to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, of pursuing a deceptive policy "which falsely claims to be advocating the non-proliferation of nuclear arms while doing nothing substantive for this cause".
According to the New York Times, Gates's memo reflects fears in the military that the White House has not yet prepared a set of action plans should sanctions and diplomatic efforts fail.
The White House issued a swift denial of any suggestion it was insufficiently ready. "This administration has been planning for all contingencies regarding Iran for many months," a White House official told Associated Press.
The Republicans leapt on the report to ridicule the Obama administration's handling of the dispute. John McCain, the 2008 presidential candidate, told Fox News: "I didn't need a secret memo to know we didn't have a coherent policy. That's pretty obvious."
The Obama administration is having to walk a tightrope in its diplomatic efforts.
On the one hand, it is dealing with China and Russia, both wary of stepping up sanctions on Tehran; on the other, it is mindful of the threat that Israel may attempt to bomb Iranian nuclear installations should the Israel government conclude that pressure alone is not working.