European leaders have expressed support for US president George W. Bush's plans for new sanctions against Iran over the latter's refusal to stop uranium enrichment. Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi offered his country's "inside knowledge" of Iran. "Our offer is based on the fact that we know Iran very well from the inside," Berlusconi said after an hour-long discussion between the two leaders in Rome. "We have some leading companies that are operating there. We obviously need to make sure nuclear energy is being used only for peaceful reasons," the Italian premier told a joint news conference with Bush.
The US president said he preferred to resolve the dispute by diplomatic means but repeated "all options are on the table. Berlusconi repeated Italy's offer to join the group negotiating with Iran, formed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. Italy is one of Iran's biggest trading partners in Europe. "I told Silvio I would seriously consider it," Bush told reporters.
After meeting with the US president in Meseburg near Berlin on Wednesday, German chancellor Angela Merkel said that if Iran continues to refuse cooperation with the UN, "we will react.". However, she emphasized that existing sanctions needed to be enforced, including a ban on cooperation with Iranian banks.
Meanwhile, Iran reportedly has threatened a massive attack on Israel in retaliation for any military strike on its nuclear facilities. Speaking Tuesday with reporters, Iranian defense minister Mostafa Mohammad Nadschar said his country would deliver a "very painful answer."
