Former U.S. President George W. Bush has revealed in his new book "Decision Points" that he ordered the Pentagon to plan an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities and also considered a covert attack on Syria.

The British newspaper The Guardian quoted a section of Bush’s book, which made its debut on Tuesday, in which he wrote, “I directed the Pentagon to study what would be necessary for a strike. This would be to stop the bomb clock, at least temporarily.”

The Guardian added that Bush says in the book that “military action would always be on the table, but it would be my last resort.” The book elaborates on the pros and cons of such an attack as discussed by members of the Bush administration. Some advisers argued that destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities would help the Iranian opposition and thus help the U.S., while others argued that it would stir up Iranian nationalism against the U.S.

“One thing is certain,” The Guardian quoted Bush as writing in his book. “The United States should never allow Iran to threaten the world with a nuclear bomb.”

Earlier in the week, another portion of Bush’s book that was released, revealed that Israel indeed bombed a Syrian nuclear site three years ago, and that then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asked Bush to bomb the nuclear site under construction in Syria, a request which was rejected by American officials. Bush accepted officials’ analyses that although the site was definitely for a nuclear reactor, it was not clear that Syrian President Bashar Assad intended to manufacture a nuclear weapon.

Bush writes in his book that Israel bombed the facility without asking for a “green light” from the United States.

Other parts of Bush’s book deal with the 9/11 terrorist attacks, stem cells, the Katrina hurricane disaster and the financial crisis.

Bush also reveals in the book that his mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, referred to him as “the first Jewish president”, after a speech he made in 2002 in which he supported a Palestinian state.