US President George W. Bush has called Iran the "world's primary state sponsor of terror" in repeating his charge that the country was developing nuclear weapons.
Delivering his annual State of the Union speech, Mr Bush said Iran was "depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve".
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| President George W. Bush smiles as he is welcomed to the House Chamber to deliver his annual State of the Union speech |
"We are working with European allies to make clear to the Iranian regime that it must give up its uranium enrichment program and any plutonium reprocessing, and end its support for terror," Mr Bush said.
"And to the Iranian people, I say tonight: 'As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you'," he added.
Last month, Vice President Mr Dick Cheney said Iran was at the top of the Mr Bush administration's list of world trouble spots and said Israel might "act first" to eliminate any nuclear threat from Tehran.
Later, Iran denied the charge it was pursuing nuclear arms, describing accusations as "baseless", official news agency IRNA said.
IRNA quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Mr Hamid Reza Asefi as saying: "Americans are ignoring the established democracy in Iran since the [1979 Islamic] revolution."
Mr Bush's remarks enraged Iran's conservative state-controlled media. State television accused Mr Bush of trying to capture Middle East oil under the pretext of promoting democracy in the region.
"All their slogans are tricks to dominate the oil resources of this region and other strategic areas. Why is Bush only interested in promoting democracy in oil-rich regions?" asked one radio commentator.
On Iraq, Mr Bush said the United States will open a "new phase" in post-election Iraq, increasingly focused on training Iraqi security forces.
Mr Bush's remarks appeared to signal a shift in US policy in Iraq, where the US troop role in Iraq until Sunday's elections has been both to fight insurgents and train Iraqi security forces.
Faced with calls from some Democrats for a phased withdrawal plan from Iraq, the White House has been emphasising the need to train and equip Iraqis to prepare them to defend their own country over the next year.
But many experts believe it could take years before local security forces can take over frontline duties from US troops.
"We will not set an artificial timetable for leaving Iraq," Mr Bush said, "because that would embolden the terrorists and make them believe they can wait us out".