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US President tells Syria, Iran to stop backing Iraq violence |
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Saturday, 12 January 2008 |
 CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait (AFP) — US President George W. Bush on Saturday called on Syria to cut the "flow of terrorists" into Iraq and on Iran to stop supporting militias that attack US forces and Iraqis.
Syria "needs to further reduce the flow of terrorists" and "Iran must stop supporting militias," he told reporters after meeting his top political and military commanders in Iraq at a US base in Kuwait.
Bush, on a Gulf tour to rally support of Arab allies against Iran, said that Tehran's role in "fomenting violence" in Iraq has been exposed.
"Iranian agents are in our custody and we are learning more about how Iran is supporting extremist groups," he said.
Tensions between the United States and Iran over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme have mounted since Washington reported a weekend face-off in the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran accuses Washington of using the incident in the waterway -- a vital conduit for energy supplies -- as a propaganda stunt to paint Iran in a bad light during Bush's Middle East trip which began in Israel.
Relations between Syria and the US, which already accuses Damascus of fuelling violence in Iraq, have recently also worsened amid US charges that Syria is blocking a solution to the political crisis in neighbouring Lebanon.
Bush also told reporters that Al-Qaeda "remains dangerous" despite having been dealt "heavy blows."
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