To let Iran go nuclear would be mistake - Cheney

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

SYDNEY, Feb 24 (Reuters) U S Vice President Dick Cheney said today it would be a serious mistake if Iran were allowed to become a nuclear power.

In talks with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Cheney said the United States and its allies were pursuing diplomacy as their preferred course on Iran but repeated previous comments that ''all options were on the table''.

''We believe it would be a serious mistake if a nation such as Iran were to become a nuclear power,'' he told reporters.

His comments came after Iran ignored a U N deadline to stop work on enriching uranium which the West says will be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran says it plans only the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The Weekend Australian newspaper reported today that Cheney had endorsed U S Republican Senator John McCain's proposition that the only thing worse than a military confrontation with Iran would be a nuclear-armed Iran.

Cheney told the newspaper in an interview that he had no doubt that Iran was striving to enrich uranium to the point where it could make nuclear weapons.

Howard, one of Washington's firmest allies in the Iraq war, said he was concerned that if the United States and its allies were to retreat from Iraq, one of the most serious consequences would be a boosting of Iran's influence.

Anti-war protesters scuffled with police during Cheney's visit.

Australia has vowed to keep its battle group of 520 soldiers in southern Iraq.

Cheney has stressed the importance of U.S. forces remaining in Iraq to stop ''jihadists'' gaining a base from which to spread violence across the Middle East.

REUTERS PDS RN0758

For Daily Alerts
Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
X