Rice Says U.S. Military Action Against Iran Not on Agenda

　　After a series of tough statements about Iran from the Bush administration, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that a U.S. military attack was "simply not on the agenda"for now in the showdown over Tehran's alleged nuclear weapons program and other issues.

　　Rice,who is on a week-long trip to Europe and the Middle East,said the United States still had"many diplomatic tools"that it intended to"pursuefully"to ensure that the Iranian government did not develop nuclear weapons.

　　Britain,Germany and France have pressed the United States to join in negotiations they have opened with Iran aimed at persuading it to permanently abandon any nuclear weapons ambitions.The Bush administration has balked at taking adirect role,but the Europeans say afinal deal is unlikely without the United States because it is a military power in the Gulf.

　　在布什政府对伊朗发出一连串强硬声明后，美国务卿康多莉扎-赖斯周五表示，在与伊朗就所谓的核武计划和其他问题所展开的较量中，美国的军事行动目前“根本不在议程中”。

　　赖斯正对欧洲和中东进行为期一周的访问。她说，美国仍拥有它计划“全力使用”的“许多外交手段”，以确保伊朗政府不发展核武器。

　　英、德、法向美施加压力，要求其加入它们已与伊朗开始的旨在劝说伊朗永久放弃核武器野心的谈判。布什政府不愿在谈判中发挥直接作用。但欧洲人表示，如果没有美国参与，最终协议是不可能达成的，因为美国是海湾地区的(主要)军事力量。