WASHINGTON, March 2: A top US military commander warned on Wednesday that Iran may invite attack by another regional power if it succeeds in developing nuclear weapons.

Gen John Abizaid, head of the US Central Command, told members of Congress he was surprised the Iranian military had not given more thought to the strategic consequences of acquiring nuclear weapons.

"I would think it would not be a good idea to develop a weapon because it puts you behind the rest of the powers, it assumes all the powers in the region - not the United States, but the powers in the region - can accept the fact that you'll be nuclear armed," he said.

"You have to ask the question whether or not achieving a nuclear weapon doesn't invite attack by one of the regional powers," he said. "And so the question for a military person should be is a nuclear armed Iran more stable or less stable in the regional context. And it's my view that it is less stable," he said.

Gen Abizaid mentioned no regional power by name, but Vice President Dick Cheney warned earlier this year that Israel might strike to shut down Iran's nuclear program.

The general was asked to put himself in the shoes of an Iranian military officer who sees US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and neighbours such as Israel, Russia, Pakistan and India with nuclear weapons. He said he believed ideological politicians, not military professionals, were driving the argument in Iran for nuclear weapons. -AFP