Washington: US President George W Bush lumped Iran with the Al-Qaeda terrorist group as "two of the greatest threats to America in this new century" and said both hoped for a US defeat in Iraq.

Bush, whose warning yesterday came in a speech defending the war, coupled the rhetorical blast with a clear warning that he would not hesitate to use force if the Islamic republic targets US interests in its strife-torn neighbour.

"Iraq is the convergence point for two of the greatest threats to America in this new century: Al-Qaeda and Iran," said Bush, who accuses Tehran of backing Iraqi militias hostile to US forces and of covertly seeking nuclear weapons.

"If we succeed in Iraq after all that Al-Qaeda and Iran have invested there, it would be a historic blow to the global terrorist movement and a severe setback for Iran," he said.

It was far from the first time that the deeply unpopular US president has dramatically described Iraq as the front line against Tehran and Osama bin Laden s terrorist network as he works to revive anemic US support for the war.

In August 2007,Bush warned that Iran's suspect atomic programme threatened to place the entire Middle East "under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust."

In October 2007, Bush told world leaders that preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons was necessary "if you are interested in avoiding World War III."

On two occasions, in March 2008 and in August 2007, Bush wrongly asserted that Iran had openly declared that it wants nuclear weapons. The White House later said he had erred.

With just 10 months left in his term, Bush served notice yesterday that he has not abandoned efforts to confront Tehran over its alleged interference in Iraq and its nuclear program, which is under three rounds of UN sanctions.
Source : PTI