Lebanese Fighting Shows Need to Keep Iran Free of Nuclear Weapons, Bush Says

U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday expressed concern that hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon could have become more severe if Iran possessed a nuclear arsenal, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Aug. 14).

“Iran has made clear that it seeks the destruction of Israel. We can only imagine how much more dangerous this conflict would be if Iran had the nuclear weapon it seeks,” Bush said.

“Responsibility for the suffering of the Lebanese people also lies with Hezbollah’s state sponsors, Iran and Syria. The regime in Iran provides Hezbollah with financial support, weapons and training,” he said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 14).

Meanwhile, a top Iranian cleric warned that Iran would retaliate against any attack against it with missile launches at Tel Aviv, Reuters reported.

“If they (U.S. and Israel) militarily attack Iran ... they should be afraid of the day when our missiles with 2,000 km range will hit Tel Aviv,” said Ahmad Khatami (Reuters II, Aug. 15).

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