A military strike against Iran is more likely because no matter what efforts are made by the U.S. to solve the issues diplomatically; Teheran continues to push ahead with its nuclear program, former CIA director Michael Hayden said Sunday. The likelihood that the U.S. may launch a strike on Iran has risen, he said.
 

In an interview on CNN’s State of the Union Hayden said a military strike on Iran “may not be the worst of all possible outcomes.”
 

Hayden who served under President George W. Bush said that during his tenure a strike on Iran was “way down on the list of options.” 
 

He predicted that Iran, in defiance of the international community, planned to "get itself to that step right below a nuclear weapon, that permanent breakout stage, so the needle isn’t quite in the red for the international community."
 

Hayden said that reaching even that level would be "as destabilizing to the region as actually having a weapon." My personal view is that Iran left to its own devices will get itself to that step right below a nuclear weapon," said Hayden, "and frankly that will be as destabilizing as their actually having a weapon.”

The U.N., U.S. and EU all recently passed sanctions against Iran in an attempt to deter the Islamic Republic from continuing to enrich uranium. The Western powers fear Teheran will use the enriched uranium to develop nuclear weapons, while Iran insists that the program's aims are peaceful.