Bush: World Should Take Iran's Threats 'Very Seriously'

Yahoo News:

The world community should take Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's threats concerning both its nuclear program and Israel "very seriously," US President George W. Bush said in an interview. Speaking to the German weekly Bild am Sonntag, the US president reiterated that he preferred a "diplomatic solution" to the conflict over Iran's nuclear ambitions and threats against Israel, but said that "all options should be placed on the table," including military action.

When Ahmadinejad says "that he wants to destroy Israel, the world should take that very seriously," Bush said, shortly after meeting in Washington with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. READ MORE

"It's a specific threat against an ally of the United States and Germany," he told Bild am Sonntag.

After a meeting with Bush in Washington on Thursday, Merkel said the two countries were in "total agreement" that Iran should be prevented from having nuclear arms, but said it was "crucial" to create the broadest possible international front.

Russia and China, both members of the UN Security Council and opposed to sanctions against Iran, on Saturday stuck to their demands for major changes to a draft Franco-British resolution currently being discussed at UN headquarters in New York.

The Council is due to meet again Monday in New York to discuss Iran followed by a dinner bringing together the foreign ministers of the five permanent member countries -- the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia -- and Germany.

The current draft would oblige Iran to suspend uranium enrichment, the process that creates fuel for nuclear reactors and -- potentially -- the core of an atomic bomb. It warns, in cases of Iranian non-compliance, of unspecified "further measures" requiring another resolution.