Fresh sanctions on Tehran and escalating US warnings have fueled comparisons to the weeks and months before the March 2003 invasion, but spokesman Tony Fratto told reporters: "I don't think there are any parallels to draw at all."

Asked whether the United States was on course for armed conflict with Iran over its suspect nuclear program and alleged interference in Iraq, Fratto replied: "I think we're very, very hopeful that it won't."

"We are absolutely committed to a diplomatic process. We would never take options off the table, but the diplomatic process is what we want to move forward with," he said, calling it "unwise" to rule out the use of force.

His comments came as US President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have been sharply ramping up their rhetoric about Iran, leading some critics to draw parallels with the late 2002 verbal escalation against Iraq.

In recent months, Bush has predicted "nuclear holocaust" and "World War III" if Tehran gets atomic weapons, while Cheney has warned of "serious consequences" for Iran if it defies global demands to freeze sensitive nuclear work -- echoing the UN resolution that Washington says authorized war in Iraq.

The United States unveiled new sanctions Thursday meant to punish the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions -- Tehran denies US charges that it seeks nuclear weapons -- and alleged sponsorship of terrorism.

"We're going to take what bilateral measures we can take to be effective. We're going to work in a multinational way to be effective with Iran," citing a "parallel process" to bring UN pressure on Iran, said Fratto.

World oil prices surged to historic highs, breaching 92 dollars for the first time in New York amid rising tension in crude-rich Iran and tightening US energy supplies.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said oil prices "are way too high" but denied that Washington was at fault, saying: "Look, the problem here isn't the United States, it's not the international community. The problem is Iran."

But Moscow has balked at Washington's hard-line approach to Tehran, with Russian President Vladimir Putin warning against the use of military force and sharply criticizing the latest set of US measures.

"Why make the situation worse, bring it to a dead end, threaten sanctions or even military action," Putin asked Thursday during a visit to Lisbon, referring to the dispute over Iran.

"You can run around like mad people wielding razor blades but it is not the best way to resolve the problem," he added.

Fratto said that Russia backs a third round of UN Security Council sanctions on Iran and predicted "I think we'll be able to move to that in November."

"It's a complicated relationship and we're not going to agree on every facet every time, but we're going to find ways to work together to be effective to make the world safer, and improve US national security," he said.

The new US sanctions targeted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, accused of spreading weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and the IRGC's elite Quds Force, which was branded a supporter of terrorism.

Three Iranian state-owned banks were also blacklisted, along with IRGC-controlled companies and the logistics arm of Iran's defense ministry, as the United States stepped up a drive to squeeze Iran out of global banking.

Through ever-stricter sanctions, Washington has tried and failed to exert pressure on Iran ever since the US embassy hostage crisis that erupted following the 1979 Islamic revolution.

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