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WASHINGTON-US President George W. Bush Wednesday rallied support among key allies to keep up the pressure on Iran, but ran into a cool response from Russia and China to a US push for fresh sanctions.Just two days after a bombshell US intelligence report said Iran had halted its suspect nuclear program some four years ago, Bush stressed Tehran still had to own up to the extent of its capabilities and its intentions. Pointing to Britain, France, Germany and Russia, Bush declared:"These countries understand that the Iranian nuclear issue is a problem, and continues to be a problem, that must be addressed by the international community."The US National Intelligence Estimate released Monday said Iran had halted a drive for atomic weapons in 2003, but retained the capability to make a nuclear weapon by 2015.But Bush has insisted Iran still poses a danger. "Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," he said Tuesday.Britain's foreign secretary David Miliband agreed Wednesday that Tehran was still refusing to bow to UN resolutions to halt uranium enrichment, which can be used to make bombs."That defiance remains the case," Miliband told reporters after talks in London with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, adding Britain and China were committed to non-proliferation."We will continue to work very closely together, secure in the knowledge that we are pursuing the shared goal of a more stable and peaceful world," he said.Germany also said Iran's nuclear program remained a cause for concern."The findings confirm what the German government has always said-that diplomatic negotiations are promising," chief government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said."But you also know the reality that two UN Security Council resolutions have not been followed and that Iran has not yet stopped its uranium enrichment program."The five permanent United Nations Security Council members-Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States-plus Germany have been leading the international effort to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear arsenal."The Iranians have a strategic choice to make,"Bush said during a visit to Nebraska on Wednesday."They can come clean with the international community about the scope of their nuclear activities and fully accept the longstanding offer to suspend their (uranium) enrichment program and come to the table and negotiate."Or they can continue on a path of isolation that is not in the best interest of the Iranian people. The choice is up to the Iranian regime," said Bush.US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has vowed to press ahead with a third round of UN sanctions."The timing has got to be to continue to pursue the Security Council resolution, to pursue the other pressures that we are bringing to bear, so that they don't acquire the fissile material," she said.Iranian officials however have called for the sanctions move to be dropped, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad boasted the intelligence report was a "great victory.""This report tries to extract America from its impasse but it also is a declaration of the Iranian people's victory against the great powers," Ahmadinejad told thousands of supporters at a rally."If we want to supply (nuclear) fuel for one year to a power plant, we should have 50,000 centrifuges," which would dramatically raise Iran's nuclear profile.Russia and China however suggested that new report from 16 US intelligence agencies lessened the need for further UN sanctions.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was urging Iran to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can be part of bomb-making."We will judge the situation around the idea of a new UN Security Council resolution on the basis of all factors, including, of course, on the basis of public confirmation of the US information," Lavrov said, quoted by RIA Novosti news agency.His words echoed the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Wang Guangya, who when asked about fresh sanctions said: "I think Council members will have to consider that, because... now things have changed."Bush however won support from Israel, with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni saying sanctions were the best way of ensuring Iranian compliance with UN demands."The world must not loosen its grip," Livni warned. "Iran is constantly evaluating the reaction of the international community."As in the days of Noah....
