Centcom Pick Warns of Iran Influence in Gulf Region

Iran is positioning its military to deny U.S. access to the Persian Gulf while acting as a "destabilizing" influence in the region, President Bush's nominee to command U.S. forces in the Middle East told the Senate yesterday. Adm. William J. Fallon said he favors using what one senator called "battleship diplomacy" to deter Iran.

"Iranian support for terrorism and sectarian violence beyond its borders, and its pursuit of nuclear capability, is destabilizing and troubling," Fallon said in an opening statement at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

	VIDEO | Stabilizing Iraq will require 'new and different actions' to improve security and promote political reconcilation, Admiral William Fallon said at his confirmation hearing to head Central Command Tuesday.