Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani – invoking international icons Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill in London yesterday – vowed to attack Iran if necessary to prevent the Islamic regime from developing nuclear weapons.
“I believe the United States and our allies should deliver a very clear message to Iran. They are not going to be allowed to become a nuclear power. It’s just not going to happen,” Giuliani said at a fund-raising luncheon hosted by Churchill’s granddaughter, Celia Sandys.
“We will use any option we believe is in our best interest to stop them from becoming a nuclear power . . . If they get to the point that they are going to become a nuclear power, we will prevent them or we will set them back five or 10 years,” Giuliani said.
“That is not said as a threat. That should be said as a promise.”
The visit was a public-relations coup for Giuliani, allowing him to look statesmanlike while meeting Britain’s top leaders.
He had private chats with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing St. and former PM Tony Blair, and held a fund-raiser before delivering a speech to the Atlantic Bridge, an Anglo-American group, stressing America’s strong relationship with the United Kingdom.
Giuliani accepted an award from Thatcher – the former prime minister dubbed the “Iron Lady” – following the speech.
“She’s released a revolution without end. We have tremendous regard for you, Lady Thatcher,” Giuliani said to thunderous applause.
Giuliani said the “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom was as strong as ever, despite the reduction of British forces in Iraq.
“It’s now such a strong relationship that it is going to endure whatever we have to endure to overcome Islamic terrorism,” he said.
“This is not time for defeatism or appeasement. As Margaret Thatcher put it, this isn’t a time to go wobbly,” Giuliani said of the Iraq war and the larger battle against terrorism.
He also recommended expanding NATO to include Australia, Singapore, Israel, India and Japan.
Giuliani said he could “absolutely” work with Brown if elected president, joking that the last real fallout between the Americans and Brits was the War of 1812.
Meanwhile, during a chat with reporters, Giuliani boasted that “I’m probably one of the four or five best-known Americans in the world.”