It's about time that President Bush and Prime Minister started calling out Iran and Syria's active participation and support of the terrorist insurgency within Iraqi. While you have probably heard President Bush's warning to Iran and Syria to cease as desist their activities in Iraq in various speeches like the one before the National Endowment for Democracy today, I can assure you that it's a rarity to hear Prime Minister Blair make such public declarations towards Iraq's neighbors. Take a look at what the Financial Times reported that PM Blair had to say about the meddlesome efforts of these known terrorist states:
Mr Blair's outspoken comments marked a severe deterioration in Britain's relationship with Iran and sparked an angry response from Tehran.I just hope they do more than just talk. More than ever, it's time to take our stand and actively push these terrorist states into the dustbin of history. If we don't take a stand, then who will?
The prime minister confirmed that Tehran or its Lebanese Hizbollah allies might be supplying weapons to insurgents who have killed eight British soldiers in roadside bomb attacks. He said there was "no justification for Iran or any other country interfering in Iraq".
Speaking in Downing Street, Mr Blair appeared to link Iran's suspected ties to Sunni Muslim insurgents and a radical Shia group to the dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, suggesting the interference in Iraq could be designed to intimidate the US and Europe.
"If it is also the case that they are trying to make some point about the negotiations over the nuclear weapons issue in respect of Iran . . . we are not going to be intimidated on that," he said.
The prime minister's comments, which followed a similar briefing in London on Wednesday by a senior government official, moved Britain several steps closer to matching US hostility towards Iran.
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