Region | Iran
US senator urges military action against Iran
Joe Lieberman, an outspoken Congress hawk has proposed the US bomb Iran to stop alleged support for Iraqi militia.
- Financial Times
- Published: 00:00 June 12, 2007
- Democratic senator Joe Lieberman.
- Image Credit: Reuters
Washington: Joe Lieberman, an outspoken Congress hawk has proposed the US bomb Iran to stop alleged support for Iraqi militia.
The Democratic senator, who ran independently in the 2006 midterms after losing his party's support, came close to suggesting that the US take military action to stop Iran's suspected nuclear weapons programme "I think we've got to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the Iranians to stop them from killing Americans in Iraq," Lieberman told CBS.
"And to me that would include a strike over the border into Iran, where we have good evidence that they have a base at which they are training these people to kill our soldiers."
Lieberman is believed to be the first leading US politician to call publicly for Iran to be bombed over its actions in Iraq. But his views reflect growing anger and frustration in the administration and military.
One senior official told the FT the US believed Iran was providing Chinese-made armour-piercing weaponry to Iraqi militants.
Asked to comment on Lieberman's remarks, the White House said: "We want the Iranians to play a constructive role in Iraq. US ambassador Ryan Crocker gave them that strong message when he met with the Iranian ambassador in May.
Iran denies arming and training Iraqi Shiite militia. Lieberman said he had just returned from a tour of the Middle East.
He accused Iran of backing extremists in Iraq and Lebanon and supporting Hamas attacks against Israel and US allies.
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