Gates: Persuasion, not military action, best to quell Iran nuclear

From Mike Mount
CNN Senior Pentagon Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that a military strike on Iran's nuclear program would not stop that country from pursuing the development of a nuclear weapon.

Gates told a Senate panel that a military option would only delay Iran's nuclear ambitions and would further drive it underground, making it more difficult to monitor.

Gates said the better option would be for the U.S. and its allies to convince Iran that building a nuclear program would start an arms race that would leave Iran less secure.

"Their security interests are actually badly served by trying to have nuclear weapons," Gates said. "They will start a nuclear arms race in the Middle East and they will be less secure at the end than they are now."