US President George W. Bush on Wednesday warned Iran that any nuclear program would be condemned and the development of a nuclear weapon was intolerable.

"The Iranians need to feel the pressure from the world that, you know, any nuclear weapons program will be uniformly condemned. It's essential that they hear that message," Bush said at a gathering of newspaper executives.

"One of my jobs is to make sure they speak as plainly as possible to the Iranians and make it absolutely clear that the development of a nuclear weapon in Iran is intolerable and a program is intolerable; otherwise, they will be dealt with, starting through the United Nations," Bush said. However, Bush said Iran's signing of an additional protocol of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was "a positive development."

"We are working with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) with Iran. And an appropriate international body to deal with them is the IAEA," Bush said.

Iran signed an additional protocol to the NPT and agreed to tougher inspections by the IAEA. The United States has demanded Iran live up to its pledges of improving its cooperation and transparency with the UN nuclear watchdog.

Source: Xinhua