The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Washington

US President George W. Bush said Thursday that he hoped Iran would bow to mounting global pressure over its atomic program but warned he was "not going to tolerate" a nuclear-armed Tehran. In a wide-ranging press conference, Bush refused to comment on an Israeli raid inside Syria and declined to confirm reports that North Korea gave nuclear know-how to Damascus, while sternly warning Pyongyang against any such efforts. The president, in his first public comment on the Blackwater shooting in Iraq, said he was "saddened" because "evidently some innocent lives were lost" and that he would discuss the issue with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next week. Bush also signaled he would raise sluggish Iraqi progress towards national reconciliation, saying "I'm not going to give them a pass," while admiting that key political and security goals will not be met as quickly as hoped.