Blair plays down talk of military action against Iran Wed Nov 2, 2005
LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Tony Blair has said that military action against Iran was not on the agenda but that the international community's patience with the Islamic republic was running out.
Speaking for the European Union Wednesday, Blair reacted furiously last week to a call by Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for Israel to be "wiped off the map".
Britain, whose six-month stint as EU president started in July, was also behind a statement of condemnation issued Friday by the UN Security Council.
Asked in the British parliament whether his response carried an implicit threat of military action, Blair said he did not raise the possibility either implicitly or explicitly.
"Nobody is talking about military threats or invasion of Iran," he said during the weekly question-and-answer session.
"The Iranian government has got to understand that the international community simply will not put up with their continued breach of the proper and normal standards of behaviour that we expect from a member of the United Nations."
"The statements by the Iranian president in respect of Israel are completely and totally unacceptable," he reiterated.
"This is something we want to discuss with other allies and with other members of the Security Council."
Britain and Iran have been locked in an escalating war of words in recent months.
Britain, with France and Germany, has been leading efforts to force Iran to abandon sensitive nuclear fuel activities, seen by Western nations as a possible cover for weapons development but which Iran insists are strictly peaceful.
Blair and other senior officials last month also accused Iran and its allies in the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah of involvement in attacks against British troops in Iraq, charges again denied by Iran.
"Iran has to realise that the international community cannot tolerate continuing conduct that is supporting terrorism around the world, that is supporting terrorism not just in the Middle East but elsewhere, that is in breach of its nuclear weapons responsibilities and obligations under the atomic energy authority," Blair said.
The most important thing, he addded, was that a united message to Iran went out not just from Britain but from "right around the world".
Earlier Wednesday, a small explosive device went off in Tehran near the offices of British Airways and oil giant British Petroleum.
Muslims Prepare for End-Of-Ramadan Holiday
CAIRO, Egypt, Nov. 2, 2005
(AP) Muslims in the Middle East and across the Islamic world ended their final sunrise-to-sunset fast and did last-minute shopping for sweets, clothes and toys Wednesday ahead of a three-day holiday celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
From the Philippines to Morocco, Muslims prepared for the Eid al-Fitr holiday _ or started the celebrating right after their last sunset meal. In the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, children paraded through the streets carrying candles. There were fireworks in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Stalls in street markets in Lebanon and Egypt were packed with multi-colored candies, and cooks made pastries of filo dough.
Eid al-Fitr _ Arabic for the "festival of breaking the fast" _ is a time for family gatherings and meals that will leave the streets of Cairo and other Arab cities virtually empty Thursday. For the next two days, people flood parks and other public places, with children decked out in new clothes for the occasion.
Observant Muslims refrain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the month in Islam's lunar calendar when it is believed that the first verses of the Quran _ Islam's holy book _ were revealed to the prophet Muhammad in the 7th century.
In the Iraqi capital, workers were making final adjustments to the Luna amusement park, where hundreds of families are expected to celebrate.
"We pray to almighty God on the occasion of Eid that stability and security would prevail so that people can picnic. They are fed up of being always at home in fear of blasts," said one Iraqi, Mohsen Chasib.
At the start of Ramadan, al-Qaida militants in Iraq called for stepped up attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces. Some extremists believe they receive additional blessings if they die fighting for Islam during Ramadan.
But Iraq saw relatively few attacks on civilians for much of the month amid intensified security for a constitutional referendum and the start of Saddam Hussein's trial. However, U.S. casualties were high _ with more than 90 Americans killed in October.
A suicide attacker set off a car bomb in Musayyib, south of Baghdad, at sunset Wednesday. At least 22 people were killed, mostly civilians.
The Associated Press