Bush warns Iran, Syria against meddling in Iraq

The US President George W. Bush on Saturday denounced any moves by Iran or Syria to interfere in Iraq's effort to build a democracy.

The US president also said that while Iraq's security forces need more training, they performed well after last month's bombing of a Shiite mosque, which pushed the country to the brink of civil war.

"If the Iranians are trying to influence the outcome of the political process, or the outcome of the security situation there, we're letting them know our displeasure," Bush said. "Our call is for those in the neighborhood to allow Iraq to develop a democracy, and that includes our call to Iran as well as to Syria."

The United States says that the Syrians are backing the acts of killing by allowing foreign fighters to cross their border into western Iraq. Washington, on the other hand, also claims the Iranians are encouraging radicalism among Iraq's Shiites and permitting bomb-making materials to go through its border into Iraq.