Bush: No letup in Iran nuclear pressure Bush: No letup in Iran nuclear pressure
Saturday, April 01, 2006
LONDON, April 1 - US President George W Bush offered US aid to Iranians after a devastating earthquake but gave no letup in international pressure on Iran's nuclear programme, AFP reported.
Speaking after a summit with Mexican and Canadian leaders, Bush told a press conference: "First I do want to offer my country's assistance to the people affected by the recent earthquakes in Iran.
"We obviously have differences with the Iranian government but we do care about the suffering of Iranian people."
A powerful earthquake struck western Iran on Friday, leaving at least 70 dead and 1,265 injured.
The White House later issued a statement from Bush and his wife, Laura, expressing condolences for the suffering caused by the quake.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with families and individuals who have lost loved ones. The United States stands ready to assist the people of Iran, and we hereby extend an offer of humanitarian assistance," the statement said.
But at the press conference in Cancun, Bush renewed US condemnation of the Iranian government's nuclear activities which Washington and its allies believe hides an attempt to develop an atomic bomb.
The US leader reaffirmed Washington's view that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon it would be "a serious threat to world security" and urged Tehran to heed international warnings or risk further isolation.
"There is common agreement that the Iranians should not have a nuclear weapon, the capacity to make a nuclear weapon or the knowledge as to how to make a nuclear weapon," Bush said.
"If they want to participate in the international order of things, if they don't want to isolate themselves, they must listen very carefully to what we're saying with unified voice," he said.
The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany have been holding talks this week on what action to take if Iran ignores a UN Security Council statement issued Wednesday calling on it to halt uranium enrichment in 30 days.
Bush said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was working to forge a consensus among the major powers that would send a clear message to Tehran to ensure Iran did not obtain nuclear weapons.
"In other words, we agree on a goal. Now the question is how do we work together to achieve that goal," he said.