By David Alexander
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S., Iranian and Western diplomatsplayed down worries about a looming Israeli military attack onIran's nuclear facilities on Tuesday after reports ofheightened tensions rattled nerves and helped drive oil pricesnear record highs.
"The military option is the last thing that we need to doand it will not be used easily," said a Western diplomat in TelAviv. "I don't think there will be an attack in the next sixmonths."
Efforts to ease public fears of a possible confrontationbetween Israel and Iran followed more than a week ofspeculation touched off by a New York Times report that U.S.officials believed Israel had practiced for a possible militarystrike against the Islamic Republic.
Concern about a confrontation flared again on Tuesday whenABC News reported that an unnamed senior U.S. defence officialsaid there was an increasing likelihood that Israel wouldattack Iran over its nuclear program, which could prompt Tehranto retaliate against both Israel and the United States.
The news jangled nerves and helped push oil prices up $2 abarrel, near the record $143.67 hit on Monday, on worriesTehran could move to halt shipments through the Strait ofHormuz. About 40 percent of all seaborne oil trade passesthrough that Gulf choke point. Iran is the world'sfourth-biggest oil producer.
U.S. officials sharply dismissed the ABC News report.
"I have no information that would substantiate that," StateDepartment spokesman Tom Casey said.
"The official State Department reaction to that is one,laughter, and saying 'Coward, get out there and talk about inon the record if you've actually got something to say,'" hesaid, referring to the unnamed official cited in the report.
IRANIAN DOUBTS
Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Manouchehr Mottaki toldNBC News he did not believe Israel would attack Iran.
"Where Israel is today ... will not allow it to engage inregional adventurism," Mottaki said. "Israel is still facingthe post trauma of the attack against Lebanon in 2006. So wedon't believe that Israel ... is in a position to be able toengage in another attack in the region."
But Mottaki said Iran would make no distinction between anattack by Israel or an attack by the United States and woulddeliver a widespread response, NBC reported.
"It should be understood that all efforts should be madetowards Israel avoiding a militaristic action in the region,"he said.
The Western diplomat in Israel said there was no consensusin Israel in favour of an attack and the United States wasunlikely to act because it estimated Iran's nuclear programwould not reach a point of no return for about two years.
The United States and other Western powers charge Tehranwith seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but Iran says itsnuclear program is for peaceful energy production.
Israel is widely assumed to be the only country in theMiddle East with nuclear weapons, although it has never said ithas an atomic arsenal.
Despite efforts to allay public fears of a looming clash,the United States kept up its pressure on Iran to suspend itsuranium enrichment program.
U.S. envoy Garold Larson, marking the 40th anniversary ofthe nuclear non-proliferation treaty in Geneva, said the UnitedStates "remained very concerned that parties like Iran haveviolated their commitments and thereby undermined the treaty."
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, in Germany on aEuropean trip, said he was talking to European leaders aboutcoordinating efforts "to make sure the financial system isn'tperverted or abused by those who would attempt to use it toacquire weapons, to further their nuclear objectives or tofinance terrorists."
(Reporting by Paul Eckert and Andrew Gray in Washington,Dan Williams in Jerusalem and David Lawder in Frankfurt;editing by Frances Kerry and Cynthia Osterman)
