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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Tuesday (AP)
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| By Associated Press May 4, 2006 |
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The head of the Republican Party said Tuesday that Iran's nuclear program threatens Israel, the Jewish people and the United States, and "we must confront an evil ideology head on."
Ken Mehlman, in a speech to the American Jewish Committee's annual meeting, invoked the anti-Semitism of recent history in focusing on Iran, lauded the progress in Iraq and addressed pre-emptive military action.
"Just as we did during the 20th century, we must confront an evil ideology head on," Mehlman said. "And just as we did, we will prevail."
In Tehran, a Revolutionary Guards commander said Israel would be Iran's first retaliatory target in response to any U.S. attack, a remark that reinforced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's past call for Israel to be "wiped off the map."
"This is not about politics, this is not about left vs. right, or East vs. West, or Democrat vs. Republican. This is about a man who would like to see Jerusalem destroyed - and may soon have the power to do that," Mehlman said.
The Republican National Committee chairman said the United States must remember the lessons of World War II.
"When we wait until an attack is imminent, we have waited too long," he said.
Mehlman defended the progress in Iraq despite insurgent attacks and one of the deadliest months for U.S. troops. He said more than 30,000 new Iraqi business have registered since Saddam Hussein was toppled and Iraqis are using credit and debit cards as well as ATMs.
"Property values have risen over 1000 percent in the last three years," Mehlman said. "These are important steps for the new Iraq."
Iranian military rejects Revolutionary Guards statement that Israel would be first target if U.S. attacks
Iranian military on Wednesday rejected a statement from a top Revolutionary Guards commander that Israel would be Iran's first retaliatory target in response to any U.S. attack, according to an Iranian news agency.
Brig. Gen. Alireza Afshar, an armed forces spokesman and deputy to Iran's Chief of Military Staff, said Mohammad Ebrahim Dehghani's statement "is his personal view and has no validity as far as the Iranian military officials are concerned," according to the Entekhab News Agency.
A translation of Afshar's remarks was provided to The Associated Press.
Dehghani was quoted by the Iranian Student News Agency on Tuesday as saying: "We have announced that wherever (in Iran) America does make any mischief, the first place we target will be Israel."
His threat reinforced the Iranian president's call for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and added to international concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Israeli elder statesman Shimon Peres reacted to Deghani's warning with a call to Iran to scrap its nuclear program and a warning of his own: "Remember that Israel is exceptionally strong and knows how to defend itself."
The Entekhab News Agency said Afshar was asked about Dehghani's comments at a book exhibition in Tehran.
"Mr. Dehghani was the spokesman of a military maneuver which ended on April 8 (he has no official positions now) and his statement is his personal view and has no validity as far as the Iranian military officials are concerned," Afshar was quoted as saying.
Dehghani, who served as a spokesman during a large-scale war game by the elite Revolutionary Guards last month, was described in the Iranian Student News Agency report as a general and by Entekhab as a rear admiral.
He told the Student News Agency that the military exercises were held ahead of schedule to send a message to the U.S. and its allies against any plans for a military strike.
U.S. President George W. Bush has said a military option remains on the table if Iran does not agree to international demands to stop enriching uranium and open its nuclear program to intrusive inspections. But Bush has stressed that Washington wanted to solve the dispute through diplomacy.
The United States, Britain and France are expected to circulate a Security Council resolution shortly making mandatory the council's earlier demand that Iran halt uranium enrichment. They want the resolution adopted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter which can be enforced by sanctions - or if necessary - military action.
But Russia and China, while concerned about Iran's nuclear program, say there is no evidence yet that they are pursuing nuclear weapons and oppose putting the resolution under Chapter 7.
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