Friday April 20, 5:31 AM     Reuters*

Bush fears nuclear arms race in Middle East*

(Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush said on Thursday he was
concerned that Iran's nuclear ambitions would trigger an atomic arms
race in the Middle East.

Bush expressed his concern after The New York Times reported on Sunday
that the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan, among other
Middle Eastern states, were seeking to develop nuclear programs for
electricity generation.

The Times said that while interest in nuclear energy was rising
globally, it was unusually strong in the Middle East and that the U.S.
government and private analysts said the rush of activity appeared
intended to counter the threat of a nuclear Iran.

Israel is believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal.

"I'm very worried about a nuclear arms race in the Middle East," Bush
said in answer to a question from a member of the audience at Tippecanoe
High School after a speech about Iraq.

Iran says its uranium-enrichment program is for peaceful purposes and
denies trying to develop a nuclear weapon, as Washington charges. Tehran
is locked in a test of wills with the United States and its allies over
its program.

"Iran's a serious problem," Bush said. "This is a country we believe
wants to have a nuclear weapon, and to what end? They don't need a
nuclear weapon."

Bush warned that Iran was working against the fledgling democracy in Iraq.

"Iran is influential inside of Iraq. They're influential by providing
advanced weaponry, they're influential by dealing with some militias,
they tend to be Shi'ite militias, all aiming to create discomfort," Bush
said.

Some Sunni-Muslim governments in the Middle East, like Saudi Arabia and
Jordan, are concerned about "a shift in the Middle East toward Iran" and
wonder whether the Shi'ite government of Iraq would represent all
Iraqis, Bush said.

"There are nations who are concerned about whether or not a Shi'ite
government in Iraq will end up being a surrogate for Iran," he said.