Iran's ambassador to Beirut has dismissed as “ridiculous” speculations about a possible military strike against Iran, stressing that the West is thinking of ways to reach consensus with Tehran.
 Iran is ready to give a response to any aggression, Mehr news agency quoted Ghazanfar Roknabadi as saying in an interview with Lebanese As-Safir newspaper on Monday. He pointed to remarks by French President Nicolas Sarkozy who warned against any military strike on Iran over its nuclear program and emphasized that a military strike on Tehran is unlikely with regard to the ongoing situation in the region. Sarkozy on Friday called for the imposition of tougher sanctions on Iran so as to prevent a military attack against the country, saying any strike on Tehran would "trigger war and chaos in the Middle East." "A military intervention would not solve the problem [of Iran's nuclear program], but would trigger war and chaos in the Middle East and maybe the world," Sarkozy said during his annual New Year's address to diplomats in Paris. The French president further stressed that France would "do everything to avoid a military intervention" in Iran. The Iranian diplomat reiterated that the war rhetoric against Iran is merely aimed at waging psychological warfare. The United States and Israel have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike based on the allegation that Iran's nuclear program may consist of a covert military aspect. Iran has categorically refuted the US-led allegations regarding its nuclear program, saying that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Iranian officials have also promised a crushing response to any military strike against the country, warning that any such measure could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East. SF/GHN/AZ