WASHINGTON (AFP) -- After weeks of escalating U.S. rhetoric on Iran, the White House vowed Tuesday to ""pursue every possible diplomatic means"" to defuse the volatile dispute over Tehran's nuclear program.

Spokeswoman Dana Perino sought to quiet fears that U.S. President George W. Bush plans to attack the Islamic republic over its refusal to freeze its nuclear work.
As a signatory to the NPT Iran has legal right to uranium enrichment for civilian purposes.
""There's no reason for people to think that the president is about to attack Iran. I think that we need to make that clear,"" she said. ""He doesn't want people to fear that, because what he is doing is pursuing a diplomatic track.""
Perino pointed to Bush's meetings next week with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel as evidence of diplomatic efforts to convince Iran to bow to pressure over its nuclear program.
""He believes it's important for him to pursue every possible diplomatic means in order to persuade Iran to stop its nuclear activity,"" said the spokeswoman.
Asked whether she was sure that Bush was not about to strike Iran, Perino replied: ""I'm positive of that, and we're pursuing the diplomatic track.""