Although not giving as strongly worded a statement as the German chancellor—who compared the Iranian government to the Nazi regime—Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday said he would support strong sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran if the Iranian government does not verifiably discontinue its pursuit of nuclear weapons. "We have some leading companies that are operating" in Iran, said Berlusconi, in a published interview, "and therefore we think that this would be very useful in helping President Bush and Vladimir Putin to pursue the strategy that they've determined for that country."
The endorsement is not a big surprise from Berlusconi, an ardent supporter of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and one of Bush's strongest allies in Europe.
Berlusconi was speaking alongside U.S. President George Bush, who has been visiting Europe this week. Bush has been drumming up support for sanctions on Iran. Earlier this year, declassified information from the National Intelligence Estimate found that Iran had stopped efforts to secretly develop nuclear weapons in 2003—although Iran has never verified the report.
Iran continues to openly enrich uranium for nuclear power as an energy source. The concern is that the same technology can also be used to make nuclear weapons.
"I believe Iran should have civilian nuclear power; I don't believe they can be entrusted to enrich," said Bush.
Bush said that he has worked with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to offer enriched uranium to Iran. The offer has not been accepted.
Bush empathized with the Iranian people, who will likely suffer the worst from any sanctions. "The sad thing about this issue is that the Iranian people are suffering. They could be doing a lot better. Their lives could be much more hopeful, except their government has made the decision to defy the demands of the free world," he said.
Bush, who visited Germany and Slovenia earlier this week, will be visiting Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City today, before traveling to France and Britain.