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US warns 'reckless' Iran
09/01/2008 08:39 - (SA)
Washington - The United States on Tuesday rejected Iran's assertion that a tense naval standoff between Washington and Tehran's navies in the Strait of Hormuz was routine, and warned "they should not do it again".
"It was out of the ordinary, it was reckless," White House spokesperson Dana Perino said, as US President George W. Bush prepared to depart on a week-long Middle East trip partly designed to seek a united front to face down Iran.
"It's hard for us to tell what they were thinking, or what they were doing, or whether or not they plan to take any such actions in the future. What I can tell you is our position is they should not do it again," she said.
Asked whether the incident bolstered Bush's case against Iran, Perino replied: "I think it's just another point of reference for people in the region who are concerned about the behaviour of Iran."
While Bush aims to discuss the potential security threat posed by Tehran, it is "certainly not the main reason for the trip," which is centred on efforts to revive Middle East peace talks, she said.
"The president's purpose in going on the trip is to help advance the negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians as well as to encourage the Arab nations to recognise Israel, to recognise them as a neighbour and a partner in peace," she said.
She later clarified that she did not mean that Bush would seek formal Arab diplomatic recognition of Israel.
Iran rejects claims
Iran has rejected US charges that its naval forces threatened to blow up American ships in the Strait in Sunday's incident.
US defence officials said five speedboats from the naval forces of Iran's Revolutionary Guards menaced three US warships in the strategic waterway, with one radioing: "I'm coming at you and you will blow up in a couple of minutes."
Iranian officials expressed bewilderment over the US version of events, saying the encounter was a routine question of identification that ended with nothing special to report.
State television quoted an unnamed Guards source in the region as saying: "No threatening message was transmitted."
"It was a reckless and provocative act and what we are urging the Iranians to do is to refrain from such actions in the future so there won't be any danger of any possible more serious incident," said Perino.
Asked what Tehran's motives were, the spokesperson replied that the Islamic republic was a "very opaque society and it's hard to say what they were doing".
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