Cheney leaves open military option against Iran
US vice-president Dick Cheney today renewed Washington’s warning to Iran that “all options” were on the table if the country continued to defy UN-led efforts to get the country to abandon its nuclear programs.
At a joint news conference with Prime Minister John Howard during a visit to Australia, Cheney also said that Washington was “comfortable” with Britain’s decision to withdraw troops from Iraq, and that it was up to Australia to decide if it would do the same.
And he promised the case of an Australian who has been detained without trial at the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for more than five years was being dealt with as quickly as possible.
Cheney said the United States remained “deeply concerned” about Iran’s activities, including the “aggressive” sponsoring of terrorist group Hezbollah and inflammatory statements by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
He said top US officials would meet soon with European allies to decide the next step toward planned tough sanctions against Iran for its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Further informal talks were expected when Howard hosted Cheney later today for lunch at his harbour side mansion. Cheney was due to leave Australia tomorrow.
