Bush, Merkel defend Israel, urge Iran to back down

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US President George Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel stood together Friday in urging UN intervention if Iran does not retreat from a resumption of its nuclear program. The world needed to "send a common message to Iran that their behavior ... is unacceptable," Bush said. He continued and said that if Iran was armed with a nuclear weapon it would pose a grave threat to Israel and the rest of the world. Merkel used similar words, and she also condemned statements by Iran's leader challenging Israel's right to exist. "We will not be intimidated by a country such as Iran," she said.