Bush delivers a speech at Johns Hopkins University yesterday. -Xinhua

US President George W. Bush rejected yesterday the reports of plans for military strikes on Iran as "wild speculation," saying that force is not necessarily required to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon.

"We hear in Washington, you know, 'prevention means force,'" Bush told students and faculty at Johns Hopkins University. "It doesn't mean force, necessarily. In this case, it means diplomacy."

Bush reiterated that diplomacy was his focus for keeping Iran from developing nuclear arms.

Bush made the remarks following news reports at the weekend that the United States was considering military action against Iran's nuclear sites.

Speaking of prospects for military action against Iran, Bush said "I read the articles in the newspapers this weekend. It was just wild speculation."

However, the president noted that "We do not want the Iranians to have a nuclear weapon, the capacity to make a nuclear weapon or the knowledge about how to make a nuclear weapon."

Recently, mass media quoted unidentified current and former U.S. officials as reporting that the Pentagon and CIA planners have been exploring possible targets, such as the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and the uranium conversion facility at Isfahan, Iran.

An article published by the latest issue of the New Yorker magazine reported the Bush administration was considering using tactical nuclear weapons against underground nuclear sites.