Even as officials began Thursday to aggressively sell President Bush’s new Iraq policy, the administration stepped up actions and rhetoric against Iran for meddling in Iraq.
U.S. forces detained six Iranians during a raid on a building in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil early Thursday, according to the Pentagon. The move, which was condemned by Tehran, appeared to be the first manifestation of Bush’s vow during a televised address to the nation late Wednesday to get tough on Iran.
“We will continue to pressure Iran, and call upon the world to do so, to end its nuclear weapons ambitions,” the president reiterated Thursday at Fort Benning Army base in Georgia. “I made a statement last night that I had ordered the deployment of an additional carrier strike group to the region. I also talked about Patriot missile systems in the region, to help others deal with the external threats.”
It was a reference to defending Israel, which Iran has threatened to annihilate.
Such rhetoric prompted Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to ask Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice whether Bush planned cross-border raids into Iran or Syria.
“The president isn’t going to rule anything out to protect our troops,” Rice responded during testimonybefore the committee. “But the plan is to take down these networks in Iraq.”
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, assured reporters that no one in the Pentagon is recommending military action inside Iran. But he noted that U.S. forces have ensnared Iranians in several recent raids inside Iraq that were aimed at disrupting a weapons supply network for insurgents.
“So it is clear that the Iranians are complicit in providing weapons,” Pace said. “It’s also clear that we will do all we need to do to defend our troops in Iraq by going after the entire network, regardless of where those people come from.”
Gordon Johndroe, White House spokesman for the National Security Council, agreed.
“We will not tolerate outside interference in Iraq,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. “And that’s what the Iranians are up to. And if we get information that is actionable that the Iranians are interfering with Iraq, with Iraqis, or in any way going to harm Americans, then we’re going to take action.”
Bush said the crackdown on Iran is part of a broader effort to stabilize Iraq, where he has ordered 21,500 additional troops and more than $1 billion in reconstruction funds.
