Bush denies Iran nuclear threat exaggerated

AM - Wednesday, 5 December, 2007 08:20:00

Reporter: Kim Landers

TONY EASTLEY: A defiant US President, George W. Bush has shrugged off claims that his administration has been exaggerating Iran's nuclear threat.

Instead President Bush insists Iran still poses a danger to the world, despite new American intelligence that Tehran has halted its nuclear weapons program.

Mr Bush's line is backed by some of America's allies, including Israel, Britain and France.

Washington correspondent Kim Landers reports.

KIM LANDERS: There's no going back for a President who once raised the spectre of World War Three and warned of a nuclear holocaust if Iran had nuclear weapons.

Faced with a new US intelligence assessment, that Iran's nuclear weapons program has been dormant for four years, George W Bush prefers to call the report a "warning signal".

GEORGE W. BUSH: Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.

KIM LANDERS: The national intelligence estimate has taken America's friends and foes by surprise after years of strident rhetoric from the US, accusing Iran of pursuing covert nuclear weapons.

But the President's warning message is one he's repeated often, in what can be regarded as a damage control media conference at the White House today.

GEORGE W. BUSH: I still feel strongly that Iran's a danger. Nothing's changed in this NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) that says, "Okay, why don't we just stop worrying about it?" Quite the contrary.

KIM LANDERS: Iran's Foreign Minister is Manouchehr Mottaki.

MANOUCHEHR MOTTAKI (translated): Now that the questions and ambiguities have been clarified, if any countries have found answers to those question, no matter what their intentions were, and now want to correct their views towards Iran, we will obviously welcome that. The Iranian nuclear issue is a normal issue, like that of all countries, and Iran will continue its activities under the supervision of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency).

KIM LANDERS: The US is clearly concerned that the intelligence report could cripple its drive for a fresh round of UN sanctions against Iran.

Russia has repeatedly said it has no evidence Iran seeks nuclear weapons, so today President Bush phoned Vladimir Putin to make the case now's not the time to back off.

Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says it's still vital to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons in the future.

EHUD OLMERT: There's a need to continue concerted efforts to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear capacity.

KIM LANDERS: Britain and Germany say the report backs Europe's approach of trying to negotiate with Iran, while France says world powers should continue to prepare a new UN resolution.

The International Atomic Energy Agency says the US report should "help defuse the current crisis ".

But President Bush warns military force is still an option to stop Iran from getting nuclear arms.

This is Kim Landers in Washington for AM

 

 

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Oil row threatens European supply

AM - Wednesday, 10 January, 2007 08:29:30

Reporter: Rafael Epstein

 

PETER CAVE: Europe is once again contemplating the future of its oil and gas supplies, as Russia's oil dispute with Belarus threatens to disrupt supplies to six other European countries.

The former Russian republic shut off the pipeline that crosses its territory, after Russia doubled the price of some fuel exports.

Europe Correspondent Rafael Epstein.

RAFAEL EPSTEIN: Belarus and Russia had been feuding over gas and oil prices, but on the 1st of January, Russia doubled the price of its gas. The response from Minsk was a massive rise in the price of oil carried across its territory. Moscow refused to pay, and the result was Belarus cut off the vital Druzhba oil pipeline.

That pipeline carries half of all Russia's oil exports to Europe, and with Russia supplying around a third of Europe's oil, and even more of its imported gas, it's a stand-off that has Europe worried.

The EU Energy Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, says such dramatic disputes mean Europe must diversify i ts energy supplies.

ANDRIS PIEBALGS: I would say it is really not acceptable. Security of supply can't be built on unknowing what is really happening. But we should look generally for alternatives, because now we are most dependent if our economy is from oil. So it means that we should work with biofuels. We should look in the hydrogen economy. We really should look upon what could be alternatives if there is a really definite problem with our supplies globally.

RAFAEL EPSTEIN: With Germany currently holding the presidency of the EU, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the dispute is unacceptable, and she'll raise the matter with Moscow later this month. She also questioned the wisdom of plans in Germany to shut down nuclear reactors over the next decade.

In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his government ministers that negotiations with Belarus must continue, and that Russia must "do everything to secure the interests of Western consumers ".

Tim Williams is an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

TIM WILLIAMS: A lot of European countries are having to think about energy security in ways that they didn't have to before. There is a need for Europe to try and develop a more coherent response on energy, because otherwise big players such as Russia can just pick people off one-by-one and play the game on their terms.

RAFAEL EPSTEIN: Is the response then, if that's the way Russia's going to act, that's even more of a reason why nuclear power is an option?

TIM WILLIAMS: Possibly, yes, but I think, in any case, countries would never be happy in the long-term to have one major source of foreign supply, so they'll always look at alternatives.

Obviously if Russia is going to use energy as a political tool, then that will only increase governments' feelings that that's what they should do, that they should diversify.

But it may well contribute to renewed investment in nuclear, yes.

PETER CAVE: Tim Williams, a European security analyst.

 

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