COUNT US OUT OF IRAN WAR

Blair warns Bush: You´ll go it alone

Blair has warned George Bush that Britain will not support any US attacks on Iran.

It comes amid reports that American special forces commandos are in Iran to trace nuclear facilities and mark out targets for air strikes.

A senior Government source revealed: "The Prime Minister told the President America would have to go it alone in any attack on Iran because he feels the moral and political case for it cannot be made.

"Already facing danger in a May general election because of Iraq, he also spelled out how any strikes against Iran could make matters even worse."

Mr Blair is determined not to be drawn into White House attempts to wage further wars against Mr Bush´s "axis of evil" of Iraq, Iran and North Korea. He knows they could cost him millions of votes on May 5.

But President Bush thinks he can make the case for attacks against Iran as long as he does not repeat the big mistake of Iraq - failing to find the claimed weapons of mass destruction.

Meanwhile Britain, France and Germany have asked Iran to give up its nuclear weapons programme in exchange for economic aid and trade benefits. They have urged the Bush administration to join in negotiations, but it refuses.

For months secret US reconnaissance missions have gone into Iran to identify targets that could be destroyed by precision strikes and short-term commando raids.

A Bush aide said:

"The Pentagon wants to destroy as much of the military infrastructure as possible." Plans for a full-scale invasion of Iran are also being updated.