US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld charged Thursday that Iran was trying to stir up opposition to US and British forces in Iraq with radio broadcasts and by sending its Revolutionary Guards into the country.
Asked in a radio interview whether the US was gearing up for war against Iran, Rumsfeld said, "Not to my knowledge."
"What might be decided depends, of course, on people's behavior," he said in the interview with Infinity Broadcasting.
His comments came amid reports that the White House is debating whether it should mount a covert campaign to destabilize Iran's Islamic regime or seek to influence it through diplomacy.
The White House accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons and harboring senior al-Qaeda terrorists, charges similar to those leveled against Baghdad in the buildup to the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Iran, Rumsfeld said, "clearly has not been helpful in Iraq today. It's also clear that they have permitted senior al-Qaeda to operate in their country, and that is something that creates a danger to the world because we know what the al-Qaeda can do in terms of killing innocent men, women and children."
Rumsfeld blamed the uncertain security situation Iraq in part on Iran, saying the presence of Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the country was "a major source of adverse influence."
"And the Iranians are beaming in radio programs trying to stir up people in Iraq to oppose the coalition," he said
"How successful they will be is not something we can measure in advance. We certainly intend to prevent them from being successful," he said.
On Iran's nuclear program, Rumsfeld said that it was uncertain how close Tehran was to acquiring nuclear weapons.
"I think reasonable people assume that the Iranians, if they continue to pursue this, which is unfortunate, are going to have nuclear weapons. Some would estimate earlier, some would estimate later," he said.
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