The United States needs to be realistic about its efforts to engage Iran, whose leaders are lying about Tehran’s nuclear program and are on a path to building nuclear weapons, the top US military officer said.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in comments released on Friday, November 26, that the US military has been thinking about military options on Iran “for a significant period of time” but added that diplomacy remained the focus of US efforts.

“I still think it’s important we focus on the dialogue, we focus on the engagement, but also do it in a realistic way that looks at whether Iran is actually going to tell the truth, actually engage and actually do anything,” Mullen said in an interview with CNN.

Iran has agreed to meet with a representative of the six big powers over its uranium enrichment drive, but diplomats and analysts see little chance of a breakthrough in the long-running dispute.

Still, US officials, including Mullen, have warned that a military strike will only delay, not halt, Iran’s nuclear program and say convincing Tehran to abandon its nuclear program is the only viable long-term solution, dawn.com reported.