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Iran Prez Lashes Out at Bush, Israel

He says Tehran's Mideast foe 'would not dare attack'

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 17, 2008 9:20 PM CST

(Newser) – Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took aim against two familiar foes with strong rhetoric today, BBC reports. He accused President Bush of "sowing seeds of division" during his Mideast trip and warned Israel not to threaten Tehran. "The Zionist regime would not dare attack," he said after Israel tested a ballistic missile. "The Iranian response would make them regret it, and they know this."

In an interview with al-Jazeera, he also said Bush sent a "message of confrontation" during his trip, during which he tried to rally Arab states in opposition to Iran's growing nuclear ambitions. In announcing its successful missile test, Israel urged the world to work harder to prevent the "appearance of a nuclear Iran."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaks at a ceremony in Iran's nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, 300 kms 186 (miles) south of capital Tehran, Iran, in this April, 9, 2007, file photo. (AP... (Associated Press)

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, shakes hands with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah, during an official meeting in Tehran, on Wednesday Jan. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian) (Associated Press)

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Iran Prez Lashes Out at Bush, Israel

He says Tehran's Mideast foe 'would not dare attack'

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