Attack on Iran could backfire, Petraeus says

"It's possible (a strike) could be used to play to nationalist tendencies," Reuters quoted Petraeus as saying on Wednesday.

"There is certainly a history, in other countries, of fairly autocratic regimes almost creating incidents that inflame nationalist sentiment. So that could be among the many different, second, third, or even fourth order effects (of a strike)," he added.

Petraeus also rectified his earlier remarks in which he had claimed that the US is beefing up missile defense installations of its Persian Gulf allies as part of sharpening of US messaging about the diplomatic stalemate with Iran.

Of the defensive capabilities he had previously described being deployed in the Persian Gulf, he emphasized that they had been built up over years -- "not something sparked by events in Iran in recent months," Reuters reported.

"This has been built up over years of inflammatory Iranian rhetoric, alarming Iranian activities and Iranian provision of arms, money, training, explosives and direction in some cases to a variety of different extremist elements," Petraeus said.

/Press TV/