Military force an option against terrorists: Merkel

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said
military force can be used as a “last option” in the fight
against terrorism and warned Iran not to curtail cooperation
with the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog.

In a speech to Germany’s diplomatic corps late on
Wednesday, Merkel appeared to increase pressure on Iran just
hours before a decision is to be taken on whether to report the
country to the U.N. Security Council over its disputed nuclear
program.

“The fight against terrorism requires the mobilization of
all political, economic and, when necessary as a last option,
military means — whenever possible under the umbrella of the
United Nations,” Merkel said.

Later in the speech she urged Iran not to cut back on
cooperation with the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) if Tehran is reported to the Security Council over
Western fears that it is developing atomic weapons.

“I can only warn Iran not to pull away from the
international community and the IAEA,” she said. “We have been
following with great concern Iran’s recent escalation of the
dispute over its nuclear program into a crisis.”

Members of the 35-nation IAEA were meeting in Vienna on
Thursday to discuss what action to take on Iran, which insists
it only has a civilian nuclear program.

They are likely to send Iran’s case to the Security Council
but delay any action there, such as sanctions, by a month to
allow more time for diplomacy.

On Saturday an Iranian military leader said Iran could
launch medium-range missiles in the event of an attack on its
nuclear facilities.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel
to be “wiped off the map” and has cast doubt on the Holocaust,
when six million Jews were killed by the Nazis. Merkel has
repeatedly condemned Ahmadinejad for his remarks.

Unlike French President Jacques Chirac, who said recently
that nuclear weapons could be used against terrorist states,
Merkel appeared to refer only to conventional force when she
talked generally of military action against terrorists.

The use of German troops abroad has been an extremely
sensitive topic in Germany since the end of World War Two. Many
Germans are opposed to participation in foreign military
operations. Germany began sending combat troops to participate
in peacekeeping missions in the late 1990s.