Survey finds Iran rift poses transatlantic challenge

By Paul Taylor, European Affairs Editor

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europeans and Americans differ widely over whether to use force if diplomacy fails to contain Iran's nuclear programme, posing a major challenge for future transatlantic relations, a major opinion survey shows.

The annual Transatlantic Trends study by the German Marshall Fund of the United States and four European foundations suggests U.S.-European ties are unlikely to recover until there is a new president in the White House and may not improve much even then.

The poll, conducted in the United States and 12 European countries in June and released on Thursday, showed an overwhelming 77 percent of Europeans disapprove of President George W. Bush's international policies.

While Americans and Europeans largely agreed on the main security threats -- terrorism, energy dependence, climate change and the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons -- they differ widely on the use of force to solve problems.

The divergence was sharpest over how to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, with 47 percent of Europeans favouring ruling out military action if diplomacy fails and only 18 percent in favour of threatening the use of force.

By contrast, 47 percent of Americans favour keeping the military option and only 32 percent would rule it out.

Iran insists its programme is purely for civilian energy purposes but the West suspects Tehran is pursuing uranium enrichment in the quest for a bomb.

The study showed Europeans had a general reluctance to use force and while most supported deploying troops for peacekeeping and reconstruction in Afghanistan, two thirds were unwilling to commit their soldiers to combat operations against the Taliban.