Bill Clinton and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Bill Clinton and Mahmoud AhmadinejadIsrael news photo montage

Former US President Bill Clinton says Iran is more likely to have terrorists do its dirty work than to launch a nuclear war itself.

Clinton offered the assessment during an interview with Fox News
journalist Bill O'Reilly Wednesday on the Fox television network to promote his latest book, "Back to Work."

Although not present at security briefings "since Hillary became Secretary of State," Clinton said the latest report by the United Nations IAEA nuclear agency, revealing Iran's ambitions to develop a nuclear weapon, was "the biggest unkept secret in the world." What to do about it, on the other hand, he said, is a more complex matter.

"Dealing with it is complicated. That's what the Israelis think too. When you ask yourself what are your options here... I do not believe the president should take any military option off the table," he stated.

"The Iranians, I think, would be crazy to launch a nuclear weapon because their whole society would disappear," Clinton said. However, he noted, Iran does not necessarily need to launch a nuclear weapon on its own in order to wage war -- and in fact, probably wouldn't do so.

What I think would happen is, if you have all this fissile material, then you give it to a terrorist group and they have a series of suitcase bombs and that could terrify and paralyze the world without creating a nuclear cloud over Jerusalem, and its really a deeply troubling thing," Clinton said.

Nevertheless, he said, there is also "more than one way to skin a cat," when trying to find a way to eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat.

With a hint of a grin, Clinton commented, "They set 'em back pretty good, whoever gummed up their computer capacities."