Rice: Iran No 1 challenge
2006-03-09 22:36
Washington - The United States warned on
Thursday that Iran would pose major threat to American interests in
the Middle East should it acquire a nuclear bomb in spite of
the US-led campaign to curb the Islamic republic's atomic
programmes.
Secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday Iran
was probably the No 1 challenge for the United States, posing
a significant threat due to what she believed was Tehran's
support for anti-Israel militants and meddling in Iraq.
But that threat could grow exponentially, she added.
"If you can take that and multiply it by several hundred,
you can imagine Iran with a nuclear weapon and the threat they
would then pose to that region," Rice told a congressional
hearing.
Tehran, which says its nuclear programs are for the
peaceful generation of electricity, vowed no compromise in a
stand-off with the West.
Washington wants the UN security council this month to
start taking action against Iran that could lead to sanctions.
Two veto-holders on the council, Russia and China, have
resisted the US push for possible sanctions and American
officials have said they might have to work with nations
outside of the United Nations to impose sanctions on the
oil-wealthy country.
"We may face no greater challenge from a single country
than from Iran, whose policies are directed at developing a
Middle East that would be 180 degrees different than the Middle
East we would like to see developed," Rice said.
Faced with the threat of eventual international sanctions,
Iran warned the United States on Wednesday it could also
inflict "pain" in a nuclear dispute where it has failed to
allay suspicions in the West it wants to build a bomb.
Rice and defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the United
States was focused on diplomacy to meet the challenge they
believe Iran poses.
While debate has grown in the United States over a possible
US strike to stop Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb, Rumsfeld
said he knew of no US plans to attack Iran despite the
perceived threat.
- Reuters