WASHINGTON (AFP) — President George W. Bush Wednesday warned Iran must be barred from nuclear weapons to avoid the prospect of "World War III," and dismissed suggestions of a US-Russia rift on the crisis.
Bush intervened hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin made a new proposal to end the nuclear crisis as he met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for landmark talks in Tehran.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani meanwhile revealed he would hold new talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday in Rome to search for a solution to the atomic standoff.
Bush upped US rhetoric at a White House news conference, warning the world must do more to isolate the Islamic Republic.
"We've got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel," Bush said.
"So I've told people that, if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jhHRxtDMZNV7qNLqrEL3mWsfDyWQ