The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Washington

Thirty US senators wrote to President George W. Bush, warning he had no authority to launch military action against Iran, and expressing concern about the administration's "provocative" rhetoric.

The senators, 29 Democrats and one independent, urged the resolution of disputes with the Islamic republic through diplomacy.

"We wish to emphasize that no congressional authority exists for unilateral military action against Iran," said the letter signed by senators including presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Another Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Chris Dodd, signed the letter but Senators Barack Obama and Joseph Biden did not. The letter warned that a resolution passed by the Senate in September, calling for the designation of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group, should not be used as a pretext for war.

It hit out at "provocative statements and actions" by the administration on Iran, after Bush last month warned Tehran must be barred from nuclear weapons to avoid the prospect of "World War III."