Rice Tells Senate Iran Number One Challenge for US
09 March 2006
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told a U.S. Senate committee that Iran and its nuclear ambitions pose the number one challenge to the United States.
In testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Rice also said Iran's policies are directed at creating a Middle East radically different than one that the Bush administration wants to emerge.
Rice's testimony Thursday came hours after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran will not halt its push for nuclear technology. He alleged that U.S. officials are seeking to undermine Iran's clerical rulers.
Wednesday, the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency reported Iran to the United Nations Security Council for restarting its uranium enrichment program.
The Security Council could impose sanctions if it finds that Iran's nuclear activities violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, as the United States and the European Union allege.
U.N. ambassadors from the five permanent council members - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - have begun a series of meetings to address the Western allegations.
The United States has accused Iran of using its nuclear program as a cover for developing an atomic bomb. Tehran insists its research is for peaceful purposes.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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