Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta spoke to the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, identifying the Iranian regime as the most significant national security threat facing the United States, allies and partners in the region, The New York Times reported.
Notable was the phrasing of a warning to Iran: that any action to block free transit of regional oil shipments and other commerce would be a redline, a term describing an unacceptable action that would be countered with an American response.
No greater threat exists to the security and prosperity of the Middle East than a nuclear-armed Iran, Mr. Panetta said, noting that a pillar of our approach to the region is our determination to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
He pledged the United States was committed to deterring Iran’s destabilizing activities, particularly those that could threaten the free flow of commerce throughout this vital region. That is a redline for the United States.
American policy to shape Iranian action would use both inducements and penalties, diplomacy and economic sanctions, he said. But the Pentagon would always have military options ready for the President’s consideration, Mr. Panetta said.
That’s a responsibility I take very seriously, because when it comes to the threat posed by Iran, the president has made it very clear that we have not taken any options off the table, Mr. Panetta said.
Looking broadly across the region, Mr. Panetta also described how the United States was seeking to sustain a military presence and enhance military-to-military cooperation in the Persian Gulf after the withdrawal from Iraq at the end of this month.