Bush warns of WW III if Iran goes nuclear

President Bush issued a stark warning on Oct. 17, bluntly suggesting that if Iran obtained nuclear arms, it could lead to "World War III." At a White House press conference, Bush said he had "told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon." Bush's comment was another sign that he did not accept a view stated last month by Gen. John Abizaid, who retired this year as the top US commander in the Middle East. The general said that "there are ways to live with a nuclear Iran." Bush sought in the news conference to make clear that his pressure tactics, including economic sanctions, were aimed at persuading the Iranian people to find new leadership. "The whole strategy is that, you know, at some point in time leaders or responsible folks inside of Iran may get tired of isolation and say, 'This isn't worth it,' and to me it's worth the effort to keep the pressure on this government," Bush said. He added, "My intent is to continue to rally the world, to send a focused signal to the Iranian government that we will continue to work to isolate you in the hopes that at some point somebody else shows up and says it's not worth the isolation." The president was responding to a question about the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, who visited Iran this week and warned the United States against military action there. Before that, in Moscow, Putin said he saw "no evidence" that Iran was trying to acquire nuclear weapons. The president made his remarks on a day when Putin appeared around the world in newspaper photographs standing side by side with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Bush dismissed any notion that the pictures reflected like-mindedness, saying, "Generally, leaders don't like to be photographed scowling at each other." For the second consecutive news conference, Bush was also adamant in his refusal to discuss an Israeli air attack on a military site in Syria in early September. The day before, Putin's trip to Iran was the first visit by a Kremlin leader since Joseph Stalin in 1943. Putin was met at Tehran's Mehrabad airport by Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, a privilege not extended to the other visiting leaders. Putin defended Iran's right to develop a civilian nuclear-power program. He said Russia would respect its obligations to provide fuel for the nuclear reactor being built on the Persian Gulf at Bushehr, but said "legal and financial" details needed to be clarified first. The United States appears to have successfully leaned on Russia to hold up the delivery of the fuel to the Bushehr plant, whose start date has been delayed indefinitely. One day before Bush made his "World War III" prediction, Putin had explicitly warned: "We should not even think of making use of force in this region," as Russia joined a declaration by Caspian Sea leaders that warned outside powers against using their territories for launching military action, in a veiled reference to possible US use of Azerbaijan as a staging post. "We are saying that no Caspian nation should offer its territory to third powers for use of force or military aggression against any Caspian state," Putin said. Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic which has a partnership deal with NATO, has been touted as a potential launching pad for US strikes against Iran after US military commanders inspected its airfields. Ahmadinejad praised the communiqué as "very strong" after it gave explicit backing to Iran's nuclear program. It declared that all signatory nations to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty -- including Iran -- can "carry out research and can use nuclear energy for peaceful means without discrimination." The wording supported Iran's claim that it is being singled out unfairly over its nuclear ambitions, which it insists are peaceful. The next day, Iran shrugged off Bush's warning that its nuclear program could lead to "World War III," saying his remarks only served to show up Washington's failures. Foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said the "war-mongering" policies of neo-conservatives in the United States had reached a dead end and US officials were merely trying to distract attention from this failure. "They are using the idea of war to cover up their domestic policies and try to divert attention from their problems," he said in a statement. Abdol Reza Rahmani Fazli, the deputy head of Iran's supreme national security council, said: "These declarations show the anger of the United States against the success of Iran on the international stage. "The statements by the American president, who claims that Iran is seeking to make an atomic bomb, are part of a psychological war," he added. Rahmani Fazli also accused Bush of playing down the importance of Putin's visit. Bush was trying to "cover up the information about Putin's visit and minimize the results of this visit," he said.