Wider Iranian threat is feared

Many U.S. officials believe small conflicts on the ground or at sea are potentially riskier than a nuclear program.

By Paul Richter and Peter Spiegel, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
October 31, 2007

WASHINGTON -- While the White House dwells on Iran's nuclear program, senior U.S. diplomats and military officers fear that an incident on the ground in Iraq is a more likely trigger for a possible confrontation with the Islamic Republic