White House Defends Bush's WWIII Comment as Only a "Rhetorical Point"

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The White House explained last Thursday that U.S. President George W. Bush was merely trying to "make a point" with his comment of a possible World War III should Iran develop nuclear weapons.

According to White House spokesperson Dana Perino, the president "was not making any war plans, and he wasn't making any declarations." She explained that the comment was only made as a "rhetorical point" of how "we do not believe...that Iran should be allowed to pursue nuclear weapons."

The statement was for a comment the president made at a news conference last Wednesday, saying "if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing [Iran] from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."

Pelosi further insisted that such would lead to "a potentially dangerous situation," housing the possibility of a World War III.

The statement made by President Bush in relation to a possible World War III has extracted comments from the Iran government.

"This sort of policy will jeopardize peace and security at the international level, and is a barrier of peace," says Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini.

Tehran had denied the accusations of a nuclear weapon, and declared that its nuclear plans are of a peaceful nature. However, Iran has twice ignored United Nations resolutions calling for the stop to uranium enrichment, which is needed for a nuclear bomb.

Tensions also rose when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced support for Iran, with the most significant being his pledge to build a nuclear power plant in Bushehr.

President Bush said that he was not concerned with the growing ties between the two leaders, as he believed that the Russian understood the dangers of Iran armed with nuclear weapons, said the Telegraph.