Iran crisis “will not be resolved by military means”: UK foreign minister, Blair disagrees
Blair and Straw split by Iran nuclear crisis
Daily Telegraph
By Toby Helm in London and Anton La Guardia in Vienna
Last Updated: 1:12am BST 20/09/2005
A serious rift has opened between Tony Blair and Jack Straw over whether to retain the threat of military action against Iran if it refuses to halt its nuclear programme. A day after Mr Straw declared that the crisis “will not be resolved by military means”, Downing Street distanced itself from the Foreign Secretary. It lined up behind President George W Bush, who has made clear that “all options are on the table” while wanting a diplomatic solution and insisting there are no plans to use force. advertisement The Foreign Office made no attempt to hide the disagreement last night. “Jack’s view is clear,” said a senior official. “Military action is inconceivable.” Earlier, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman played down any suggestion of a split but, when asked about the difference between Mr Straw’s views and those of the US President, he emphasised that Mr Blair agreed with Mr Bush.
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