LANDSDOWNE, Va. Oct. 21 — Vice President Dick Cheney, ratcheting up the administration’s warnings to Iran, today branded that country’s government “a growing obstacle to peace in the Middle East” and declared that United States and its allies “will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
The vice president’s remarks, coming just days after President Bush suggested that a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to “World War III,” amounted to a one-two punch from the administration. “The Iranian regime needs to know that if it stays on its present course, the international community is prepared to impose serious consequences,” Mr. Cheney said. He did not specify what those consequences might be, or whether they would include military action, but added, “We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
Mr. Cheney made his remarks in a wide-ranging foreign policy speech during a conference on Middle East policy hosted by The Washington Institute, a research organization. During the 25-minute talk, he also took aim at Syria, accusing it of using “bribery and intimidation” to influence the upcoming elections in Lebanon, and made the case, as he has in the past, for the administration’s muscular approach in prosecuting terror suspects.
But his most serious comments were aimed squarely at Iran, which he accused of being “the world’s most active sponsor of state terrorism.” Experts at the conference said the vice president’s language, while stopping short of threatening military action, seemed designed to prepare Americans for what the administration might do if Iran did not cooperate. “The language on Iran is quite significant,” said Dennis Ross, who served as a Middle East envoy for both the first President Bush and in the Clinton administration, and is now a scholar at The Washington Institute. Referring to Mr. Cheney’s remark about “serious consequences,” Mr. Ross said, adding that it was a strong statement and that “does have implications.”
Dick Cheney giving his speech.
In a speech on Sunday, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney warned that Iran will face "serious consequences" if it refuses to stop enriching uranium.  In his speech, Cheney also accused Iran of being "the world’s most active sponsor of state terrorism," and called Iran's government "a growing obstacle to peace in the Middle East."

"The Iranian regime needs to know that if it stays on its present course, the international community is prepared to impose serious consequences," Cheney said in a speech to the Washington Institute for Near East Studies, without specifying whether those consequences would include military action.  "The United States joins other nations in sending a clear message: We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon," he said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said today that Iran's nuclear policies are "unalterable" and that terminating Iran's nuclear program "isn't on the agenda and won't be."  Iran maintains that it is developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, a position that has been backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In an interview with ''CNN'', U.S. Representative Jane Harman (D-Calif.) said the language being used by the Bush administration is "very dangerous" and recommended stronger U.N. sanctions as an alternative to "war-mongering threats."  "We heard about mushroom clouds and other images before the military action in Iraq. I wish the president would avoid that," she said.