CLEVELAND, March 20: US President George Bush said on Monday he hoped to resolve the nuclear dispute with Iran with diplomacy, but warned Tehran he would ‘use military might’ if necessary to defend Israel.

“The threat from Iran is, of course, their stated objective to destroy our strong ally Israel. That’s a threat, a serious threat. It’s a threat to world peace,” the US president said after a speech defending the invasion of Iraq.

“I made it clear, and I’ll make it clear again, that we will use military might to protect our ally Israel,” said Mr Bush, who was apparently referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s call for the destruction of Israel.

On the atomic dispute, Mr Bush said he hoped ‘to solve this issue diplomatically’ with a ‘united message’ to Tehran from Washington, London, Paris, Berlin as well as Russia ‘hopefully’ and China.

The message would be that ‘your desire to having a nuclear weapon is unacceptable’, he said.

Mr Bush also touched on Iran’s agreement to discuss Iraq with the United States, saying that ‘it’s very important, however, for the Iranians to understand that the discussion is limited to Iraq’.

“We’re using this as an opportunity to make it clear about our concerns of interference within a democratic process that is evolving,” he said, saying that the talks will not decide Iran’s relations with a sovereign Iraq.—AFP

Opinion

Fifty years later

Fifty years later

The nation is stuck in a repetitive cycle: striving for fair and timely polls, basic rights, and civilian empowerment.

Editorial

Healing old wounds
09 Dec, 2023

Healing old wounds

IN a development that will surely shine a spotlight on one of the darkest chapters in Pakistan’s democracy, the...
New Danish law
09 Dec, 2023

New Danish law

THE public defilement of Islamic sanctities — mainly by Islamophobic provocateurs in the West — serves no...
Elected set-up’s job
09 Dec, 2023

Elected set-up’s job

Backed by a powerful establishment, the interim government has done a fairly good job at executing IMF-mandated policies.
Privatising SOEs
Updated 08 Dec, 2023

Privatising SOEs

WHY does the government want to demolish the historic Roosevelt Hotel in New York — one of the eight properties ...
Filing returns
08 Dec, 2023

Filing returns

THE grim realities of Pakistan’s flailing efforts to ensure tax compliance often present themselves as farce....
Cost of negligence
08 Dec, 2023

Cost of negligence

ONCE again, Karachi has witnessed a tragic fire, this time engulfing a six-storey commercial-cum-residential ...