Bush: Stopping Iran key to solving Mideast problems

"When you go to the Middle East and you sit in my seat and listen, yes, there's concern about the Palestinian state. But the dialogue has shifted dramatically from 'solve the Palestinian state and you've solved the problems in the Middle East' to, now, 'solve the Iranian issue and you solve the problems in the Middle East'," US President George W. Bush said during an interview with The Observer, published on Sunday.

Bush told the British newspaper ahead of his scheduled visit to the United Kingdom that additional sanctions were needed to curtail the Iranian nuclear threat. "The next step is for the Europeans and the United States and Russia and China to understand that diplomacy only works if there are consequences," The Observer quoted Bush as saying.

"If the people in the Middle East do not think that the United States and Europe, for example, are going to work to provide security, they will find ways to secure themselves. And what the Middle East does not need is a nuclear arms race."

The American leader added "I have made it clear that it's difficult for the United States to resolve an issue in a one-on-one situation with people like (Iranian President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad. The only way to achieve consequences through diplomacy is for there to be a universal application - in this case, of sanctions. Unilateral sanctions do not work."

Turning his attention to the war in Iraq, Bush told the British newspaper "We didn't realize, nor did anyone else, that Saddam Hussein felt like he needed to play like he had weapons of mass destruction. We thought for certain there were WMDs. That having been said, I still strongly defend the decision. The world is better off without Saddam in power.