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Allies concerned about U.S.-Iran relations

WASHINGTON , Aug. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. allies are increasingly worried about the possible fallout from Iran’s reaction to sanctions the White House wants to impose.

Despite a shared interest in Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions, European and Arab governments are concerned military action might follow if Iran fails to comply with U.S. demands, The Washington Post said Thursday

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For instance, the Bush Administration plans to declare Iran's entire Revolutionary Guard Corps a "specially designated global terrorist," a move that would block the unit's assets and pressure foreign companies conducting business with its commercial network.

"If the region is strewn with crises, then there's potential for real disaster. There's a fear that they will all merge into a super-emergency bigger than any one country can deal with," an Arab envoy told The Post.

Some European diplomats also expressed alarm regarding the language State Department spokesman Sean McCormack used in saying U.S. forces are confronting Iran "on a number of different battlefields.”

However, Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., sponsor of the pending Iran Counter-Proliferation Act, assures the United States is "far from having exhausted all the peaceful options for putting Tehran's leadership on the right path."

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