In his first public comments on Iran since reports emerged that his administration has drawn up plans for an attack, President Bush was dismissive — but did not issue an explicit denial: “The doctrine of prevention is to work together to prevent the Iranians from having a nuclear weapon. I know — I know we’re here in Washington; you know, prevention means force. It doesn’t mean force, necessarily. In this case, it means diplomacy. And by the way, I read the articles in the newspapers this weekend. There was just wild speculation, by the way. What you’re reading is wild speculation, which is kind of a, you know–happens quite frequently here in the nation’s capital.”

The issue has received renewed attention following a recent piece by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker. The article cites defense officials saying the Bush administration has drawn up elaborate plans to use tactical weapons against Iranian nuclear sites. Seymour Hersh was also in Washington Monday, where he discussed the possibility of a US attack. Hersh said: “It’s going into what they call operational planning, in which there’s serious, consistent very carefully drawn up bombing campaigns and what you will. I mean, there’s no decision made about what to do but it’s not just pie in the sky, this is serious stuff.”