US plans to strike Iran 'ready' says American ambassador to Israel

Plans for a U.S. strike against Iran are “ready” and “fully available,” U.S. ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said Thursday on Israel's Army Radio.

The comments, first reported by Reuters, come as Iran prepares to resume negotiations over its nuclear program with the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany next Wednesday in Baghdad. The United States and other western powers accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, while Iran maintains that its research is for peaceful purposes only.

"It would be preferable to resolve this diplomatically, and through the use of pressure, than to use military force," Shapiro said, according to Reuters. "But that doesn't mean that option is not fully available — not just available, but it's ready. The necessary planning has been done to ensure that it's ready."

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