Bush: Iran a "destabilising influence"
President Bush claims Iraq's PM shares his views
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Thursday, 09, Aug 2007 08:33
US president George Bush has claimed that Iran is a "destabilising influence" in Iraq, despite Tehran having pledged support for its neighbour's troubled government during talks this week.
Speaking at a press conference as US lawmakers prepare to take a summer break, Mr Bush said that the American people should be "concerned" about Iran's activity in Iraq and around the world.
The president's comments follow a visit made by Iraq's prime minister Nuri al-Maliki to Tehran, where reports claim Iran's first vice president Parviz Davoudi told him that his nation had always strived to provide and strengthen security in its neighbouring country.
But speaking about the Iranian claim today, Mr Bush told reporters: "I don't believe they are constructive."
Asked whether he believed Iraq's prime minister shared his view of the situation, the US president added: "Yes. He knows that weaponry being smuggled into Iraq from Iran and placed in the hands of extremists over which the government has no control, all aimed at killing innocent life, is a destabilising factor.
"He absolutely understands that," added Mr Bush in an apparent attempt to play down rumoured divisions between Washington and Baghdad.
Reports suggest that the US is frustrated at the lack of progress Mr Maliki has made in stemming ongoing sectarian violence in Iraq.
Iran, which like Iraq has a majority population of Shi'ite Muslims, has been accused on supplying weapons to militants there in order to fuel the fighting – a charge denied by Tehran.