Former CIA Director George Tenet says the United States needs to revitalize the Palestinian-Israeli peace effort and do a better job leveraging its own diplomatic and economic strength to offset Iran's growing influence in the Middle East.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Tenet said discussions about Iraq need to be broadened to consider the entire region - with an eye toward "cauterizing and minimizing" Iranian political influence.

"The Palestinian-Israeli peace process has to be resuscitated at some point," said Tenet, whose new memoir, "At the Center of the Storm," provides details about his involvement in the peace talks during the Clinton administration.

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Tenet said Monday that he worries about Iranian influence for a number of reasons, including Iran's sway over Syria and an influence in Palestinian politics that affects Israeli security.

He said U.S. political, diplomatic and economic strength is enormous - and can be used to offset Iranian influence. "We need to look at this region. Iraq's a problem. We are working through a difficult environment today," he said.

Tensions between Iran and the United States have grown. The Bush administration accuses Tehran of helping destabilize neighboring Iraq by supplying deadly weapons and stirring sectarian strife. On Monday, the State Department released a report saying that Iran remains the biggest supporter of terrorism around the world, with elements of its government backing groups throughout the Middle East.

Although recent tension has raised the prospect of a military confrontation between the United States and Iran, Tenet said he could not recall that any senior Bush administration officials were thinking along such lines when he stepped down in July 2004 after seven years as spy chief.

"I highly doubt in this time period - where we were dealing with Iraq, we're dealing with Afghanistan, we're dealing with terrorism - there was much thinking about this," he said of a possible Iran invasion.