WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George
W. Bush described on Tuesday Iran's act in the recent confrontation between the
ships of the United States and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz as "provocative."
It is the first direct response from Bush himself on
the incident.
U.S. President George W. Bush makes a
statement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington Jan. 8,
2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
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Asked
by a reporter at a news conference on whether Iran intended to provoke the
United States into a fight in the incident, he said, "I think it was a
provocative act."
"It is a dangerous situation. They should not have
done it, pure and simple," he added.
"Iran was a threat. And Iran will continue to be a
threat if they are allowed to learn how to enrich uranium," he said.
The Pentagon said Monday that five Iranian boats had
harassed and threatened three U.S. Navy warships in international waters in the
Strait of Hormuz.
Bush administration officials immediately warned Iran
to refrain from taking "provocative actions that could lead to a dangerous
incident in the future."
But Iran responded by calling the incident "something
normal" and said the incident has been resolved.
The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier
and the USNS Arctic sailing side-by-side in the Gulf. (Xinhua/AFP
File Photo) Photo
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The United States said
Tuesday that Iran's move to try to confront U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of
Hormuz was "reckless" and warned Tehran against doing it again.
"It was out of the ordinary, it was reckless," White House
spokeswoman Dana Perino said. Full story
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. White House warned
on Monday Iran to refrain from taking "provocative actions that could lead to a
dangerous incident in the future."
"We urge the Iranians to refrain from such provocative
actions that could lead to a dangerous incident in the future," U.S. National
Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. Full story
Iranian helicopters and warships take
part in maneuvers in the Strait of Hormuz in 2000. (Xinhua/AFP
File Photo) Photo
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TEHRAN, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Tuesday denied its
Revolutionary guards boats had threatened to blow up U.S. navy ships in the
Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, saying what happened between the two sides
was just a "routine" action to identify each other.
"No threatening message was transmitted," the state
television quoted an unidentified Guards official as saying. Full story
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman
Mohammad Ali Hosseini,seen in Tehran Feb. 12, 2007, on Monday played down
an incident between Iranian boats and U.S. naval ships in the strategic
Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, saying it was "something
normal".(Xinhua/Reuters File Photo) Photo
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TEHRAN, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry
spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini on Monday played down an incident between
Iranian boats and U.S. naval ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz over the
weekend, saying it was "something normal", the official IRNA news agency
reported.
"It's something normal and takes place every now and then
for each party, it has been resolved when the two parties identified each
other," Hosseini was quoted as saying. Full
story
