The New York Times editorial board warned the US administration Wednesday against military intervention in Iran, insisting it would do "more harm than good." In an editorial entitled "Military Rumblings on Iran," the daily expressed concern over seemingly bellicose remarks by various administration officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, who last week placed Iran at the top of a list of issues that concern the United States.
"These hawkish rumblings eerily recall the months before the American invasion of Iraq, when some of the same officials pressed hardest for military action, while the president remained publicly uncommitted," The New York Times said.
"We hope that this time, wiser heads in the administration will intervene before it is too late," it added. The Times also warned that "no major American ally, including Britain," favours military intervention, and it emphasised that Iran is "almost three times as populous as Iraq" and that an invasion would rally Iranians behind the "unpopular clerical dictatorship."
Cautioning that "a nuclear-armed Iran is an alarming prospect," the daily called for international economic sanctions against Tehran.
It also expressed hope that the United States and Europe would join forces to order Tehran to abandon its uranium-enrichment program or face "severe economic penalties."
"It is time to put aside unilateral American military bluster and European wishful diplomacy and get serious," the daily urged.