MELBOURNE (Agencies) - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Monday rejected comments by Israels Prime Minister calling for a credible military threat against Iran to ensure it does not obtain nuclear weapons. US military chiefs said that the Afghan governments plan to take over security from foreign troops by 2014 was a realistic goal, citing progress in the war effort. We know that they are concerned about the impact of the sanctions. The sanctions are biting more deeply than they anticipated and we are working very hard at this, Gates told reporters on a visit to Australia for security talks, rebuffing Israels call for military force. So I would disagree that only a credible military threat can get Iran to take the actions it needs to end its nuclear weapons programme. We are prepared to do what is necessary but at this point we continue to believe that the political-economic approach that we taking is in fact having an impact in Iran. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu told US Vice-President Joe Biden on Sunday that only a credible threat of military action would stop Iran from developing the atomic bomb, a senior Israeli official said. US Defence Chief Gates said the NATO alliance planned to endorse the 2014 goal set by President Hamid Karzai at a summit later this month in Lisbon. One of the agenda items for the Lisbon summit is to embrace president Karzais goal of completing the transfer of security responsibility to Afghanistan by 2014, the Pentagon chief said. So I think thats the kind of time frame that were talking about. Asked if he believed the 2014 date was realistic, Gates said yes. Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, agreed, telling reporters at the same briefing that he was comfortable with the timetable. He said the US-led effort to train Afghan forces had made significant progress but there was still much more work to be done. But as a target at this point, that makes sense, he said of the 2014 deadline. So Im comfortable with it as this point. Under US Gen Petraeus planning for the handover was now well-advanced, the admiral said. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier Monday in Melbourne that she was convinced that parts of Afghanistan would be under the control of Afghan forces by next year. This is a tough fight that were in, but were convinced that starting next year there will be parts of Afghanistan that will be under the control of the Afghan government and its security forces, she told reporters. US General David Petraeus, the US commander in Afghanistan, has drafted a timetable for the handing over of control of its provinces to local security forces, The Times newspaper reported Monday. Gen Petraeus colour-coded map, which will be presented to Nato leaders at a summit in Lisbon on November 19, contains a small number of green areas which are designated for handover within six months. The plan indicates that the western province of Herat is due for an early handover, while NATO forces are expected to remain in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand for at least two more years. Alliance diplomatic sources told the newspaper that Petraeus did not want the map to be published, fearing certain provinces and districts would become bulls-eye targets for the Taliban.