Blair Rejects Action Against Iran and Syria

Telegraph:

Tony Blair insisted today he did not want to take any action against Iran or Syria, saying it would be a "terrible miscalculation" if they thought otherwise. The Prime Minister said he wanted good relations with both countries and had no desire to destabilise them. "We are happy to have better relations with Syria and Iran," he said.

"We have no desire whatever to act against people in Iran or people in Syria."

But he said the only way good relations could be established was if the countries stuck to their international obligations and did not support terrorism in other countries.

"I am afraid at the moment that is not the case," he said. READ MORE

"Iran is giving active support to terrorism round the Middle East and elsewhere.

"And there is the situation obviously as a result of what has happened in Lebanon where there are very serious question marks about what has happened with Syria.

"There would be a terrible misunderstanding, indeed a terrible miscalculation being made both by the Syrian and Iranian regimes if they thought that we were interested in destabilising those two countries.

"We are not. We want good relations with those two countries. But it has got to be on the basis of a common understanding as to what is acceptable in the international community and what isn't."