Iran cleric rejects Bush's accusations on Iraq

An influential Iranian cleric on Friday rejected President George W. Bush's accusations that Iran was arming and funding Shi'ite militias in Iraq to kill American soldiers, state radio reported.
Iran has never interfered in Iraq ... such claims are sheer lies made by Iraq's occupiers to continue Iraq's occupation," Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a senior advisor to Iran's top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told worshippers in a Friday prayers sermon at Tehran University.

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The Us believes that Iran is helping Iraqi soldiers kill Americans, but Iran has disagreed.

US not seeking war with Iran: White House

The White House says "there is no one" inside the US Government who wants war with Iran, even though US President George W Bush has not ruled out any options.

"There's no one in the administration that is suggesting anything other than a diplomatic approach to Iran," spokeswoman Dana Perino said one day after the commander of US forces in the Middle East resigned.

Ms Perino said "it's nonsense" to say that Admiral William Fallon was pushed out because he reportedly disagreed with Mr Bush's hardline approach towards forcing Tehran to end its suspect nuclear program.

"The President welcomes robust and healthy debate," she said, adding that there were "dissenting views on a variety of issues that get worked out through our policy process. That is usually not played out in the press."

"What the President has said is that all options are on the table is what helps make diplomacy work and makes it more effective," she said.

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Vice President coming to Iran

President Bush is sending Vice President Dick Cheney to the Middle East, following on last week's trip to the region by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from the White House, Cheney will be encouraging Israelis and Palestinians to move forward following an outbreak of violence in Gaza, and new concerns about Israel's settlements policy.

"His goal is to reassure people that the United States is committed to a vision of peace in the Middle East, that we expect relevant parties to obligate themselves - uphold their obligations on the road map," said Mr. Bush.

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Cheney is going to Iran to try to keep peace in Iran and the Middle East.

Iran's rise owes much to Bush's Iraq and Afghan wars

By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent - Analysis

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Five years on, Iran can thank the United States for unwittingly aiding its drive for regional power by ousting Saddam Hussein, one of Tehran's deadliest foes.

The U.S. military had already defeated Afghanistan's Taliban after the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities in 2001 -- with the unintended consequence of wiping out another of Iran's enemies and tilting the local balance of forces in Tehran's favor.

"The removal of these two regimes without powerful successor states benefited Iran greatly...and opened elbow room for Iran to spread its influence," said Vali Nasr, senior fellow at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations.

Iran cannot entirely rule out U.S. military action to destroy its nuclear sites, and its oil-reliant economy may prove vulnerable a few years hence, but for now it is riding high.

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This is significant because it is about nations involving with other nations.

Iranian and U.S. officials will meet within days in Baghdad for a new round of talks as part of efforts to build on recent progress in stemming sectarian violence, Iraq's foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Washington, at odds with Tehran over its nuclear programme, wants Shi'ite Muslim Iran to use its influence with militias from the same sect in Iraq to stem attacks on U.S. forces and Sunni Muslim groups, which are deepening the cycle of sectarian violence in the country.

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Iran and the United States are trying to work out the issues concerning nuclear programs. Hopefully, after all the discussions, they will be able to ressolve the conflicts that have been created.

Iran defiant on anniversary of revolution

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad struck a defiant tone Monday on the 29th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, vowing not to slow Iran's nuclear program and announcing plans to launch more rockets into space as part of its drive to orbit a domestic satellite.

Like Iran's nuclear activities, the country's space program has provoked unease abroad because the same technology needed to send satellites into space can be used to deliver warheads.
Iranian officials insist both the space and nuclear programs are intended for peaceful purposes, and Ahmadinejad rallied Iranians against U.N. Security Council demands that Iran stop enriching uranium.

Hundreds of thousands marched in Tehran shouting "Death to America" and burning effigies of President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

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This article shows the opinions of the citizens of Iran as well as their future plans. They say that they are using the space program and nuclear missiles for their advantage and not for harm, but other countries do not believe that.

Bush hails 'headway' on highlighting Iranian threat

President George W. Bush said in an interview aired Sunday the United States had made headway convincing Middle East states that Tehran is a threat, and that sanctions are having an impact on Iran's economy.

"In my trip in the Middle East, I made it abundantly clear to nervous nations that Iran is a threat," Bush told Fox News Sunday.

"I think I made pretty good headway in the Middle East that Iran is a threat," he said.

Bush expressed confidence in stepping up pressure on Tehran with a third sanctions resolution from the UN Security Council, aimed at forcing Iran to halt uranium enrichment, which the US and European allies believe is geared toward developing nuclear weapons.

The proposed new measures include an outright travel ban on Iranian officials involved in the country's nuclear and missile programs, and inspections of shipments to and from Iran if there are suspicions of prohibited goods.

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This story is significant because President Bush announced numerous times before, how big of a threat Iran is to all other nations. He also said that Tehran is another threat to the Middle East.

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Iran Does Not Listen to US

Iranian officials have dismissed U.S. concerns regarding the country's space program after launching a new rocket capable of carrying the first domestically-built satellite into orbit.

Washington and European officials have expressed concern about Iran's missile program and accused Tehran of trying to master technology to build nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charges and says both programs are peaceful.

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This article shows the worry that Washington and other major areas of power are showing with Iran having the capability of sending rockets and what not into space. Iran sees this as a peaceful new chapter in their history, but the new success has caused a lot of controversy.

Iran vs. United States

The Iranian Foreign Ministry wouldn't acknowledge the message the US sent because it twice used the word Gulf instead of Persian Gulf when referring to the January 6 incident between U.S. warships and Iranian patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States contends its warships received a threatening radio transmission telling the U.S. fleet they would "explode." The Pentagon released a four-minute, 20-second videotape that showed five boats racing back and forth near the convoy.

Iran, which also released video footage of the incident, maintains it was a routine communication. The Islamic republic accuses the United States of faking the video and exaggerating the matter for political purposes.

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The United States and Iran have had a lot of tension lately and this incident only added to it. The Iranians believe that the boats that were circling the US ship were just doing what they usually do but the United States found it defensive. Now, the US has sent a message to Iran and Iran refused to agree to it because it had the wrong name of the location of the incident.

USA prepares military action against Iran?

U.S. President George W. Bush is finishing his three-day trip to Israel. On
Friday Bush intends to visit Jerusalem’s major places of interest, but the main
goal of Bush’s Mideastern tour is not so peaceful as it may seem at first sight.

The administrations of Mossad and Aman (external
intelligence) prepared a report for Shimon Peres to prove that Iran was going to
build its first A-bomb during the coming several months. The document, of which
the U.S. administration is obviously informed, may counterbalance the recent
report from American special services that said that Teheran suspended its
attempts to make nuclear weapons.
Bush stated after his two-hour meeting
with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that Iran
continued to be a “threat to world peace.” The president added that Washington
would continue to show pressure on Teheran.
The president of the Academy of
Geopolitical Sciences of Russia, Leonid Ivashov, said in an interview with
Pravda.ru that Bush’s visit to the Middle East is linked with both the
presidential race and an attempt to retrieve his influence in the troubled
region.
First and foremost, George Bush outlined his
priorities. Israel, its security and support is definitely the first priority
for the States. That may mean that Bush is trying to win the support of the
pro-Israel lobby, especially its financial structures.
The peacemaking
mission of the U.S. president is the second priority. Bush visited Israel to
regulate the conflict with Palestine. To crown it all, Bush is willing to
exercise his readiness to attack Iran. According to his own statements, the U.S.
president views Iran as the country that may start the Third World War.

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This article is important because it shows how afriad President Bush is about Iran building it's first Nuclear Plant. He accuses Iran of being a "threat to world peace".

Israel Reports Iranian Made Rocket Hit

By MATTI FRIEDMAN – 21 hours ago
JERUSALEM (AP) — A rocket fired at
Israel by Palestinians earlier this month was made in Iran, an Israeli lawmaker
and security officials said Tuesday.
The origins of the rocket, which hit
the Israeli town of Ashkelon on Jan. 3, offered a further indication of ties
between Gaza's militants and Iran's hard-line Islamic regime.
The military
would not comment on the rocket's provenance at the time, but on Tuesday, Isaac
Ben-Israel, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's ruling Kadima party,
said the projectile was manufactured by Iran, Israel's most bitter enemy.
Speaking at a press briefing, Ben-Israel, a retired Israeli air force
general, estimated that Gaza militants had several such weapons in their
arsenal, but "not many." Most of their projectiles are short-range rockets
manufactured in Gaza.
Israeli security officials confirmed Tuesday that the
rocket came from Iran. They could not immediately say if it was the first
Iranian-made rocket to hit Israel.
They spoke on condition of anonymity
because they were not authorized to release an official announcement to the
press.
President Bush, traveling in the Middle East, reiterated U.S. claims
that Iran supports militants "with training and lethal aid."
"Iran's role in
fomenting violence has been exposed," Bush said.
The top U.S. commander in
Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, has said the overall flow of weaponry from Iran into
Iraq appears to be down. U.S. military officials have been saying for months
that mainly Shiite Iran has been supplying roadside bombs to Shiite militias in
Iraq, despite strong denials by Iran.

This is important because Bush is accusing Iran of making violence.

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