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US will rally the world: Bush
US and EU have joined hands to have Iran hauled before the UNSC.
US President George W Bush has said that America will rally the world to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
"The Iranian government is defying the world with its nuclear ambitions and the nations of the world must not permit the Iranian regime to gain nuclear weapons," Bush said. "America will continue to rally the world to confront these threats."
Bush's remarks came during his State of the Union address late on Tuesday before a joint session of Congress.
Bush accused Iran's government of supporting terrorism in the Palestinian
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| Bush during State of Union address |
territories and in Lebanon.
But he said US policies are not aimed at hurting ordinary Iranians and that he supports their effort to "win your own freedom".
Iran is "a nation now held hostage by a small clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people," Bush said.
The United States has joined the European Union in moving to have Iran hauled before the UN Security Council for its nuclear programme.
US and EU diplomats are urging the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) governing board to make that decision at a meeting starting on Thursday.
The Bush administration accuses Iran of using a nuclear energy programme as a cover for developing atomic weapons. Iran says the programme is purely for producing electricity.
