Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz announced Wednesday that “the Joint Chiefs of Staff have prepared military options to strike Iranian nuclear sites in the event of a conflict.”

Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz announced Wednesday that “the Joint Chiefs of Staff have prepared military options to strike Iranian nuclear sites in the event of a conflict.”

Refusing to state whether the US is capable of targeting the Iranian underground nuclear facilities, Schwartz warned that “what we can do, you wouldn’t want to be in the area”.

For its part, the White House warned that any military strike against Iran will bring greater instability to the region, which would be a threat to America’s security in Afghanistan and Iraq.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a press conference on Wednesday that “Iran borders both Afghanistan and Iraq. We have civilian personnel in Iraq. We have military personnel as well as civilians in Afghanistan,” and indicated that Washington does not have conclusive evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons.

However, Carney added: ““We continue to ratchet up the pressure on Tehran… and I think it’s important to note that, while Tehran does not and has not lived up to its international obligations... we do have visibility into their programs.”

The US official further pointed out that “the lack of evidence of Iranian nuclear weapons has given the United States the time and latitude to continue the policy we have applied since the president took office.”

This comes as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met Wednesday with his US counterpart Leon Panetta and discussed with him various topics including the Iranian issue.

In parallel, Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with US President Barack Obama on Monday during his visit to Washington, and the “Iranian nuclear program” will reportedly be the main topic of discussion.