Britain not ruling out military action against Iran
Britain has not ruled out military action against Iran because of the country's "increasingly dangerous" development of nuclear weapons, Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.
Hague told Sky News that all options remained on the table and that Britain was not advocating military action but was instead intensifying sanctions in a bid to bring Tehran to the negotiating table.
"We have never ruled anything out. We have not ruled out any option, or supporting any option. We believe all options should be on the table, that is part of the pressure on Iran," he said.
"But we are clearly not calling for or advocating military action. We are advocating meaningful negotiations, if Iran will enter into them, and the increasing pressure of sanctions to try to get some flexibility from Iran," Hague said.
Western countries have stepped up sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme, and have also threatened an embargo on its oil exports.
Tehran threatened to block the Straits of Hormuz oil shipment route in response.
Prime Minister David Cameron, during a visit to Saudi Arabia, warned Iran that the world would "come together" to ensure the straits remained open.
