DUSHANBE, February 6, 2012, Asia-Plus – U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday there were important risks to consider before any military strike against Iran and made clear he does not want to see more conflict in the oil-producing Gulf region, Reuters reports.

In a television interview, Obama also said he did not believe Tehran had the "intentions or capabilities" to attack the United States, playing down the threats from Tehran and saying he wanted a diplomatic end to the nuclear standoff.

"Any kind of additional military activity inside the Gulf is disruptive and has a big effect on us. It could have a big effect on oil prices.  We''ve still got troops in Afghanistan, which borders Iran. And so our preferred solution here is diplomatic," Obama said.

According to Reuters, Obama, who is up for re-election in November, has ended the U.S. war in Iraq and is winding down combat in Afghanistan amid growing public discontent about American war spending at a time when the economy remains shaky.

He said Israel had not yet decided what to do in response to the escalating tension but was "rightly" concerned about Tehran''s plans.

Iranian leaders have responded sharply to speculation that Israel could bomb Iran within months to stop it from assembling nuclear weapons, threatening to retaliate against any country that launches an attack against the Islamic Republic.

Iran says its nuclear program is meant to produce energy, not weapons.

But its recent shift of uranium enrichment to a mountain bunker - possibly impervious to conventional bombing - and refusal to negotiate peaceful guarantees for the program or open up to UN inspectors have raised fears about Iran''s ambitions as well as concerns about Gulf oil supplies.

Although tough sanctions from the United States and Europe have begun to inflict economic pain in Iran, its oil minister asserted on Saturday it would make no nuclear retreat even if its energy exports ground to a halt.

Betraying nervousness about the possibility of a military strike on Iran, two of its neighbors - Qatar and Turkey - urged Western powers on Sunday to make greater efforts to negotiate a solution to the nuclear dispute.

Speaking at a security conference in Munich, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said an attack would be a disaster and suggested the dispute over Iran''s nuclear program could be ended very rapidly.  “If there is strong political will and mutual confidence being established, this issue could be resolved in a few days,” said he.  “The technical disputes are not so big. The problem is mutual confidence and strong political will.”

Qatari Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Mohamed al-Attiyah said an attack “is not a solution.”  “I believe that with our allies and friends in the West we should open a serious dialogue with the Iranians to get out of this dilemma. This is what we feel in our region,” he said.

Despite Obama''s stated preference for a diplomatic solution, he said from the White House on Sunday he would not take options off the table to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons.

Tehran has warned its response to any strike would be “painful,” threatening to target Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf, and warning it may close the Strait of Hormuz used by one third of the world''s seaborne oil traffic.

The elite Revolutionary Guards conducted two-day military maneuvers in southern Iran on February 4-5 in a show of force for Iran''s adversaries.  On Sunday, the deputy of that unit said Iran was ready to attack any country whose territory is used by “enemies” to launch a military strike against it.  “Any spot used by the enemy for hostile operations against Iran will be subjected to retaliatory aggression by our armed forces,” Hossein Salami told the semi-official Fars news agency.