Rice and Gates divided over Iran:
The State Department strategy recognizes that the Mahdi Army, which poses the main threat to the George W Bush administration's plan to maintain an indefinite US military presence in the country, is too strong to be suppressed by US or Iraqi military forces. And it would seek an end to the accusations against Iran regarding Iraqi Shi'ite militias that have been issued regularly by US civilian and military officials throughout 2007.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JA05Ak02.html
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Iran Ready to Repel Any Invasion :
"This peace-loving nation would humiliate any aggressor, regardless of its size and level so that it won't even think of aggression again," Khamenei was quoted as saying by state media during a visit to the central city of Yazd
http://www.alalam.ir/english/en-NewsPage.asp?newsid=03103012 0080104231504
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Why U.S. strategy on Iran is crumbling:
The Gulf has moved away from American arguments for isolating Iran. American policymakers need to do the same.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0104/p09s03-coop.html
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Iranian bank shrugs off cost of US sanctions:
In an interview with the Financial Times, Hamid Borhani said that of 600 foreign banks that used to do business with Bank Saderat before the US imposed sanctions in September 2006, some 200 had halted their transactions
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7422c7a0-baf4-11dc-9fbc-0000779fd2 ac.html
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Iran still a threat, Bush tells Israeli TV:
An Iranian attack on Israel isn't imminent but Iran remains dangerous, U.S. President George Bush said in an interview with an Israeli TV station broadcast Saturday, days before Bush is slated to begin a Mideast visit.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/01/05/africa/ME-GEN-Isra el-Bush.php
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Bush: U.S. would defend Israel from Iranian strike :
A recent U.S. intelligence report positing that Iran suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003 did not mean that Iran no longer poses a danger, because Iran can restart the program or use its civilian nuclear program for military purposes, Bush told Israel's Channel 2 TV.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/941778.html
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