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US hints at military option against Iran
Thursday 20 April 2006.
Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said on Wednesday that the United States would use political, economic and other measures to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Speaking to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, Rice said the international community agreed Iran could not have a nuclear weapon and was mobilised to respond.
On Tuesday, George Bush, the US president, had refused to rule out nuclear strikes against Iran if diplomacy failed to curb the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions.
"In order to turn the Iranians back from what has been behavior that is contrary to all the wishes of the international community, we are prepared to use measures at our disposal - political, economic, others, to dissuade Iran," Rice said in reply to a question on Iran.
When asked what the threshold would be for military action against Iran, Rice reiterated that political and economic pressure should run its course. However, she stressed the president's view that all options remained on the table.
Officials from Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Russia and China have been meeting in Moscow, so far without agreement, trying to find a united approach on Iran, which announced last week it had begun to enrich uranium.
The United States and its European allies say Tehran could divert highly enriched uranium to make bombs while Iran says the programme is for civilian use to meet growing energy needs.
"The issue here is to mobilize the international community, to unify the international community around the view that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. That is agreed," Rice said.
She said the United States had a number of "diplomatic tools at our disposal to persuade the Iranians that they really need to come back to negotiations." She did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, oil prices hit a new high above $73, partly driven by fears that the dispute could disrupt shipments from the world's fourth-largest oil exporter.
Comments:Its Iraq all over again. The same events are repeating themselves big time. Just as just before the invasion of Iraq; Bush was saying he has no intentions of invading Iraq. Its the same story for Iran now. Then just as with Iraq, there were supposedly weapons of mass deception (sic, Destruction). Now, we are led to believe that Iran somehow has a weapon or is capable of producing what the Hebrew State had a long time ago when Europe was dumb, deaf and blind?? Now, the same threats are being made, same diplomacy dance with Europe and the same paranoia being rolled out dishing the US threats out as bully like and arrogance. Its time to draw the Chinese and North Koreans in, if Iran is attacked, North Korea must insist that it will come to the aid of its ally.The enemy of my enemy is my friend! Need I say more??!!
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