Bush says Iran must stop support for armed groups

By Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iran must stop supporting armed
groups trying to derail democracies in Iraq and Lebanon,
President Bush said on Monday, casting the war between Israel
and Hizbollah guerrillas as part of a wider struggle against
terrorism.

Bush added Lebanon to Iraq and Afghanistan as a front in
what his administration calls the global war on terror. “The
conflict in Lebanon is part of a broader struggle between
freedom and terror that is unfolding across the region,” he
said.

Unrelenting violence in Iraq has hurt Bush’s popularity and
Republicans are concerned that anti-war sentiment could hurt
their bid to keep control of Congress in the November election.

“It’s no coincidence that two nations that are building
free societies in the heart of the Middle East — Lebanon and
Iraq — are also the scenes of the most violent terrorist
activity,” Bush said.

The president has repeatedly blamed Iran and Syria for
supporting Hizbollah in Lebanon, but on Monday his emphasis was
on Tehran — saying it must back off supporting fighters in
both Iraq and Lebanon.

“In both these countries, Iran is backing armed groups in
the hope of stopping democracy from taking hold,” Bush said.

The United States is pressing for international action to
prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran says its
nuclear program is only for civilian purposes.

“Iran has made clear that it seeks the destruction of
Israel. We can only imagine how much more dangerous this
conflict would be if Iran had the nuclear weapon it seeks,”
Bush said.

BUSH BLAMES HIZBOLLAH

As a fragile truce took hold in south Lebanon, Bush again
blamed Hizbollah for provoking the month-long conflict.
“Hizbollah attacked Israel, Hizbollah started the crisis and
Hizbollah suffered a defeat in this crisis,” Bush said.

His comments came after Hizbollah chief Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah said his group had achieved a “strategic and historic
victory” over Israel and that it was the wrong time to publicly
discuss disarming it.

Bush also dismissed critics who blame American policies for
the current instability in the Middle East, saying the United
States launched its “freedom agenda” only after September 11
and earlier attacks by al Qaeda, hostage-taking by militants in
Iran, and attacks by Hizbollah.

“The message of this administration is clear. America will
stay on the offensive against al Qaeda. Iran must stop its
support for terror, and the leaders of these armed groups must
make a choice. If they want to participate in the political
life of their countries, they must disarm,” Bush said.

The U.N.-brokered truce came after about 1,100 people in
Lebanon and 156 Israelis were killed in the conflict. While
Israel says it killed around 530 Hizbollah guerrillas,
Hizbollah has acknowledged about 80 fighters killed.

(Additional Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky)