Lib Dems Challenge Blair To Spell Out Iran Plans

Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian:

Tony Blair was challenged yesterday over his position on American military action against Iraq and whether he had given any secret assurances to President Bush.

The challenge came from Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, as his party, which opposed the war against Iraq, prepares to attack Labour's foreign policy. "The prime minister pledged George Bush his support for regime change in Iraq a year before military action took place. What private assurances, if any, have been given on Iran?" asked Sir Menzies yesterday. READ MORE

He pointed to an apparent difference in approach between Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, and the prime minister. "Jack Straw has said military action against Iran is 'in conceivable'. The prime minister has said 'there are no plans'. What exactly is the government's position?" he said.

"There is a world of difference between 'inconceivable' and 'no plans', as experience readily demonstrates," Sir Menzies said.

"The foreign secretary's confidential warnings to the prime minister, in 2002, about the dangers of invading Iraq, were ignored then. What warning is he giving now?" he asked. "The risks of military action are clear. A strike could provoke fearsome retaliation, could destabilise the Middle East, and undermine reform in Iran."

A paper circulating among defence thinktanks and non-government organisations says that a detailed Pentagon plan for military strikes on Iran could be presented to Mr Bush in June this year. "There is impatience in Washington with the European diplomatic initiative and some analysts have even predicted a strike on Iran within 18 months," Sir Menzies said yesterday.

He pointed to remarks by Mr Straw, who described a military attack on Iran as "inconceivable". In an interview with Muslim News, released on March 22 2005, Mr Blair said: "Iran is not Iraq", adding: "There are no plans for military invasion of Iran."

The article claims the President Bush will receive a Pentagon plan for military strikes on Iran in June.