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Iran says U.S. accusations
on Iraq "not true"
Fred Dahl
Reuters
Wednesday Aug 29, 2007
Iran rejected on Wednesday accusations by U.S. President
George W. Bush that Tehran was fomenting instability in Iraq,
and called on Washington to change its policies in the region.
"They (the U.S. accusations) are not true," Iranian
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told Reuters
by phone, saying Bush was repeating them "again and again".
The spokesman did not comment on Bush's remarks that Iran's pursuit
of the atomic bomb could lead to a nuclear holocaust in the Middle
East.
Bush and other U.S. officials have long accused Iran of supplying
weapons to insurgents in Iraq, but in a speech to veterans on
Tuesday the president hardened his stance by lumping Tehran and
al Qaeda together.
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"Iran has long been a source of trouble in the region. It
is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism... And Iran's
active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons
threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence
under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust," Bush said.
He said U.S. forces in Iraq have recently seized rockets manufactured
in Iran and that attacks on American bases and troops with Iran-supplied
weapons had increased in the past few months.
"Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere.
And that is why the United States is rallying friends and allies
around the world to isolate the regime, to impose economic sanctions.
We will confront this danger before it is too late.
'MURDEROUS ACTIVITIES'
"The Iranian regime must halt these actions. And until it
does, I will take actions necessary to protect our troops. I have
authorized our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's
murderous activities," Bush added.
Bush's verbal attack on Iran came just hours after Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the power of the United States was rapidly
collapsing in Iraq and that Tehran was ready to step in to help
fill the vacuum.
Iran blames the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 for the violence
that is threatening to tear the country apart and has repeatedly
called on U.S. forces, now numbering about 160,000, to leave the
neighboring country.
Hosseini said the U.S. path was neither "useful or fruitful",
adding: "It is better for him (Bush) to change his point
of view and political decisions."
The two countries, which have not had diplomatic ties since shortly
after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, are also embroiled in a
standoff over Tehran's nuclear program, which the West fears is
aimed at making atom bombs. Tehran denies the charge.
In Tuesday's speech, Bush warned that extremist forces would
be emboldened if the United States were driven out of the region,
leaving Iran to pursue a nuclear weapon and set off an arms race.
"Iran could conclude that we were weak and could not stop
them from gaining nuclear weapons," Bush said.
With 164,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and patience growing thin in
the Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress and the American public,
Bush has been defending his Iraq war strategy.
A report by the U.S. commander on the ground in Iraq, Gen. David
Petraeus, and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, due to
be sent to Congress by September 15, could trigger a change in
Iraq policy.
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