WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that Iran is a menace for reasons other than its alleged drive to build a nuclear bomb and the United States has "a number of tools" if Tehran does not change its ways.

"I think there's no doubt that Iran is the single biggest threat from a state that we face," Rice told a U.S. Senate panel.

She claimed strong international backing for the U.S. position that Iran must not be allowed to continue what she claimed is a covert effort to gain bomb-making expertise and technology.

"We need now to broaden that thinking and that coalition, not just to what Iran is doing on the nuclear side but also what they're doing on terrorism," Rice said.

"Those are some of the discussions that I have with these same states."

She repeated claims Iran is meddling in Iraq, bankrolling terrorism in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories and repressing its people.

"We have a number of tools, I think, at our disposal, including in sharpening the contradiction between the Iranian people and a regime that does not represent them," Rice said.

She said $75 million that has been requested to promote democracy in Iran could be used for that fight.

Options could include other measures at the UN Security Council to "further isolate the Iranian government," Rice said.

She did not elaborate. The reference could cover a variety of international punishments the United States has said it would not seek as a first option. Russia and China, with veto power in the council, have said they oppose penalizing Iran.

Late Tuesday, Britain and France, backed by the United States, circulated among council members their latest draft of a proposed statement. The draft makes significant concessions to Russia and China, though diplomats said differences remain.

The council planned to meet Wednesday to discuss the draft.

At the U.S. Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing, Rice was not asked about the potential for a U.S. or international military strike against Iran. The U.S. administration said that option remains on the table in theory but it is pursuing only diplomatic solutions now.

The United States has had no diplomatic relations with Iran since the 1979 storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

Washington long accused the Iranian government of exporting terrorism. European countries, Russia, China and others have diplomatic, trade and other ties to Iran. Rice suggested at least some allies will agree to try and isolate Iran if the nuclear standoff continues.

Russia and China allowed Iran's case to move to the Security Council this month, which was seen as a diplomatic success for the United States. Since then, however, those countries have opposed draft versions of the written rebuke.

"We've been able to bring the Russians along to a degree but we've had to work harder on that and on the Chinese," Rice said.