No Iranian nukes, Cheney vows

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LEESBURG, Va. (AP) —The U.S. and other nations will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, Vice President Dick Cheney said yesterday.

"Our country, and the entire international community, cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its grandest ambitions," Mr. Cheney said in a speech to the Washington Institute for Near East Studies.

He said Iran's efforts to pursue technology that would allow it to build a nuclear weapon are obvious and that "the regime continues to practice delay and deceit in an obvious effort to buy time."

If Iran continues on its current course, Mr. Cheney said the U.S. and other nations are "prepared to impose serious consequences." He made no specific reference to military action.

"We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon," he said.

Mr. Cheney's words seemed to only escalate the U.S. rhetoric against Iran over the past several days, including President Bush's warning that a nuclear Iran could lead to "World War III."

Mr. Cheney said the ultimate goal of the Iranian leadership is to establish itself as the hegemonic force in the Middle East and undermine a free Shi'ite-majority Iraq as a rival for influence in the Muslim world.

Iran's government seeks "to keep Iraq in a state of weakness to ensure Baghdad does not pose a threat to Tehran," he said.

While he was critical of that government and President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, he offered praise and words of solidarity to the Iranian people. Iran "is a place of unlimited potential ... and it has the right to be free of tyranny," he said.

Mr. Cheney accused Iran of having a direct role in the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and said the government has "solidified its grip on the country" since coming to power in 1979.

The U.S. and some allies accuse Iran of secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons and have demanded it halt uranium enrichment, an important step in the production of atomic weapons. Oil-rich Iran said its program is for peaceful purposes, including generating electricity.

At a press conference Wednesday, Mr. Bush suggested that if Iran obtained nuclear weapons, it could lead to a new world war.

"I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them [Iran] from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," he said.

Mr. Bush's spokeswoman later said the president was not making any war plans, but rather "a rhetorical point."

On Thursday, the top officer in the U.S. military said the U.S. has the resources to attack Iran if necessary, despite the strains of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said striking Iran is a last resort, and the focus now is on diplomacy to stem Iran's nuclear ambitions, but "there is more than enough reserve to respond" militarily if need be.