US President George W. Bush, in remarks apparently aimed at countries like Iran, said on Tuesday that the US must keep pressure on dangerous nations after he leaves office.
“We must keep up the pressure on regimes that sponsor terror and pursue weapons of mass destruction,” Bush, who steps down Jan. 20, said in a wide-ranging defense of his record on terrorism at the US Military Academy.
Bush did not name names, but the US list of states that sponsor terrorism includes Cuba, Iran, Syria and Sudan. Washington has charged that Tehran’s nuclear program hides a quest to develop an atomic arsenal.
PHOTO: AP
The US president, who has been working with president-elect Barack Obama on the US transfer of power, said he had laid “a solid foundation on which future presidents and future military leaders can build.”
In an interview broadcast on Sunday, Obama vowed “tough but direct diplomacy” with Iran, offering incentives along with the threat of tougher sanctions over its atomic program.
After initial skepticism, Bush joined the European-led international effort to convince Tehran to suspend its suspect nuclear efforts in return for a package of diplomatic and economic benefits.
The UN Security Council has repeatedly demanded that Iran freeze its uranium enrichment work, the process which makes nuclear fuel as well as the fissile core of an atom bomb, but Tehran has refused, drawing UN sanctions.
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