Washington: The United States and Israel are exploring the desirability of carrying out a pre-emptive strike on a 1,000-megwatt nuclear power plant in Iran, which is being built with Russian help, media reports said on July 29.

"Some US Defence officials argue that Bushehr (where the plant is near completion) should be destroyed before it receives its first load of nuclear fuel from Russia," the 'Washington Post' reported in a front-page despatch on July 29.

As the plant moves closer to completion and the US and Israel fear that it will put Iran nearer to acquiring nuclear weapons, it has become "a test case of Bush administration's new doctrine of pre-empting threats to US national security," it said.

However, the plan has highlighted the complexities involved in executing a policy of pre-emption: What impact would a pre-emptive strike on the Bushehr plant have on US relations with Moscow?

"There is some support for pre-emption within the administration," said Anthony Cordesman, a leading Middle East expert and one of several proliferation specialists who described the debacle within the administration."

Others in the administration, it said, argue that if Iran agreed to international safeguards, the plant did not pose a security risk.

Besides, they argue that destroying the Bushehr plant will not eliminate Iran's nuclear weapons programme. It could is trying to reach out to them.

PTI