President Bush says Iran still poses a threat in part because of its pronouncements on Israel.
Bush addressed the aftermath of an assessment earlier this month of the U.S. intelligence community that Iran had shut down a nuclear weapons program in 2003.
Democrats and opponents of tougher sanctions against Iran have cited the National Intelligence Estimate in calling on the Bush administration to tamp down its tough rhetoric on the Islamic Republic.
Bush said Iran’s continued enrichment of uranium, its missile testing and its threats against Israel mean it still poses a danger.
“We need to take their threats seriously about what they have said about one of our allies, Israel,” Bush said during a speech Monday in Fredericksburg, Va. “And therefore my attitude hasn’t changed toward Iran.”
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