Cheney vows to keep Iran nuke-free
The vice president's words appear to escalate recent U.S. rhetoric against the nation.
LEESBURG, Va. - The United States and other nations will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, Vice President Cheney said yesterday.
"Our country, and the entire international community, cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its grandest ambitions," Cheney said in a speech to the Washington Institute for Near East Studies.
He said that Iran's efforts to pursue technology that would allow it to build a nuclear weapon were 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, Cheney said, the United States and other nations are "prepared to impose serious consequences." The vice president made no specific reference to military action.
"We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon," he said.
Cheney's words seemed to escalate the U.S. rhetoric against Iran over the last several days, including President Bush's warning that a nuclear Iran could lead to "World War III." Cheney said the ultimate goal of the Iranian leadership was to establish itself as the dominant force in the Middle East and undermine a free Shiite-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," Cheney 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," Cheney said.
Cheney accused Iran of having a direct role in the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and said the government had "solidified its grip on the country" since coming to power in 1979.
The United States and some of its European allies accuse Iran of secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons, and they have demanded that it halt uranium enrichment, an important step in the production of atomic weapons. Oil-rich Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes, including generating electricity.