The Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff has said the US presence in Iraq and Afghanistan makes attacking Iran more difficult.

Navy Admiral Michael Mullen noted that he would prefer to avoid a new regional war.

"I actually am very hopeful that we don't get into a position where we have to get into a conflict," Mullen told an Israeli television, Reuters quoted.

Referring to Bush administration's long-running military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, he pointed out that it would be a very significant challenge for the United States right now to get into a third conflict in that part of the world.

Believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, Israel bombed Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981. Israeli war planes also destroyed a site in Syria last September which US officials claimed was that of a secret nuclear program, though Damascus denied having any such facility.

Speculation that Israel could attack Iranian nuclear sites alone has been offset by assessments that its armed forces are too limited for the task.

HSH/BGH