US President Barack Obama is not ruling out military strikes against Iran to stop its nuclear program, the White House said Thursday.

Asked if the military option was still on the table, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said: “The president hasn’t changed his viewpoint that he should preserve all his options.”

Gibbs told reporters that Obama believes “we must use all elements of our national power to protect our interests as it relates to Iran,” he said

Toughness or spin?

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said “nobody from the administration has tasked anyone within the White House, the State Department to draft any letter to the Iranians,” adding that “there are lots of ideas that are being bandied about.”

“Until that review is completed, we’re not going to be able to outline how we’re going to go forward with regard to engaging Iran,” stressed Wood.

Until the letter is signed & in an envelope, it’s not a letter. It’s just an internal policy discussion.