Source: Times -- Read Full Story

President Bush warned Iran today that if it did not stop arming and training Shia militia in Iraq then "America will act to protect our interests and our troops". Mr Bush, during a speech in which he ordered an indefinite halt in US troop withdrawals from Iraq this summer, called Iran one of the two "greatest threats to America in this century" - together with al-Qaeda. Mr Bush's warnings came after two days of testimony from General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, who said Iran posed one of the greatest threats to stability in the region. General Petraeus called the Iranian-backed Shia groups and the "malevolent" influence of Tehran the greatest long-term threat to a viable Iraq. Mr Bush said he was following General Petraeus's advice to halt withdrawals after July, when troop levels have been reduced to 140,000, roughly the same number deployed in Iraq before last year's "surge" of additional troops. He said the general will "have all the time he needs" to evaluate further withdrawals.