Bush warns Iran of consequences if U.S. ships attacked
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JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush warned Iran on Wednesday of "serious consequences" if it attacked U.S. ships in the Gulf, adding that all options were on the table.
"My advice to them is don't do it," Bush said at news conference in Israel, days after Washington said Iranian boats aggressively approached three U.S. Naval ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route off Iran's coast, and threatened that the ships would explode.
"We have made it clear publicly and they know our position, and that is there will be serious consequences if they attack our ships, pure and simple," Bush said.
"The (U.S.) national security adviser was making it abundantly clear that all options are on the table to protect our assets," he said, after the adviser, Stephen Hadley, spoke to reporters on Bush's flight to Israel earlier in the day.
The United States released a video of the weekend incident, including a recording of what it said was the exchange between the two sides.
Bush called it a "dangerous gesture" by Iran.
Iran rejected the footage as fake and accused Washington of trying to stir up tension in the region. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the images were archive pictures.
(Writing by Jeffrey Heller, Editing by Adam Entous)
