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UN is not the only option on Iran, Rice says

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says a "coalition of the willing" may move ahead on tough measures against Iran for its nuclear program if the UN Security Council does not.

Rice, speaking at a foreign-policy event in Chicago late on Wednesday, said she remained confident that the crisis could be resolved with diplomacy -- though not necessarily always via the UN.

"You know that there are states that have been saying that if we don't get meaningful measures inside the Security Council, perhaps a coalition of the willing will think about other financial or political measures that could be taken," she said.

Russia and China, both veto-holding members of the Security Council, are leading opposition US calls for UN sanctions on Iran.

The differences played out this week in Moscow at talks on Iran involving those three powers and Britain, France and Germany.

Rice restated the US administration's standard position that all options are on the table in dealing with Iran, "and we have always said that the right to self-defense does not necessarily require a UN Security Council resolution."

But she contrasted Iran with Iraq.

"The issue here is to mobilize the international community, to unify the international community around the view that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," Rice said.

"It's a very different situation," she said. "I believe we can make the diplomacy work."

Iran says its uranium enrichment program, which it kept secret for nearly two decades, is solely for civilian nuclear power. The US is building a diplomatic coalition for its view that Iran's real aim is nuclear weapons.

Also see story:
Divisions continue on how to stop Iran

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