Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Wang Guangya said yesterday that military and economic measures on Iran's nuclear issue are counterproductive.

Wang, who is also the current president of the UN Security Council, told reporters that military and other economic measures that were considered would certainly prove to be counterproductive.

"We still believe that negotiations and diplomatic solution is the best way out of it," he observed.

Wang reiterated also that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the best place to discuss Iran's nuclear issue, and hoped Wednesday's visit to Iran by the head of the IAEA Mohammed ElBaradei will bring fruitful results.

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.

However, U.S. President George W. Bush rejected on Monday 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.