US: The US Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, has warned Iran's religious leaders not to try to promote the idea of a theocracy in neighbouring Iraq, writes Derek Scally in Berlin
Mr Rumsfeld ruffled diplomatic feathers on his first visit to Germany since the Iraq war by repeating his controversial "old" and "new" Europe comments.
"The efforts by Iran to try to make Iraq become a model of Iran with a small group of clerics taking over the country and controlling it, we're not going to let happen," said Mr Rumsfeld. "We're going to actively oppose any Iranian influence in that country that attempts to make Iraq an Iran-type model and we'll do it with words to start with and we'll do it energetically."
Mr Rumsfeld's warning, made before he travelled to Brussels for today's NATO conference, is based on fears that Shia extremists in Tehran would try to stir unrest within Iraq's own Shia majority in an effort to install religious leaders in Baghdad.
Mr Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, has said that "elements in the Iranian government are interfering in Iraqi affairs".
Mr Rumsfeld made a flying visit to southern Germany to deliver a speech marking the 10th anniversary of the George C. Marshall Centre. The centre, an institute for security studies that is co-funded by the US and Germany, was set up a decade ago as part of the efforts to stabilise post-cold war Europe.
Mr Rumsfeld said US intelligence suggested Iran does not have nuclear weapons now.
"The assessment is that they do have a very active programme and are likely to have nuclear weapons in a relatively short period of time," he said.
Mr Peter Struck, the German Defence Minister, was anxious to gloss over the diplomatic differences of recent months as a result of the Iraq war, saying that Germany's long-standing relationship with the US had weathered the storm.
"We agree that it is time to look forward and not back," said Mr Struck.
Mr Rumsfeld had a few words of reconciliation, expressing US thanks for the participation of German soldiers in peacekeeping and reconstruction in Afghanistan. He even added that he thought relations between the countries were "normalising".
But the defence secretary made no mention of US-German relations in his 20-minute speech yesterday.
Instead, he reiterated his famous "old" and "new" Europe comments, and heaped praise on Poland and Romania for their support during the war on Iraq.
"Many nations in Europe, but not all, correctly see the nexus of terror and weapons of mass destruction as the biggest threat and recognise that transatlantic unity is more critical than ever if we are to successfully deal with that threat," said Mr Rumsfeld, adding that other unnamed nations were more interested in defining themselves as a "counterweight" through their opposition to the US.
"Most reject the argument that they must choose between Europe and America and recognise that a robust transatlantic relationship is not only compatible with European integration, but critical to our mutual security," he said.
He said the discussion of "Old Europe" and "New Europe" wasn't a matter of the history, size or geographic location of a country but its "attitude . . . behaviour and vision" and what the nation brings to the transatlantic relationship.
Mr Rumsfeld described as a "dangerous development" plans by Iraqis who lost relatives during the war to file war crimes charges in Belgium against Gen Tommy Franks, the commander of US forces during the war.