President Bush also directly warned Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki about his close ties to Iran. Al-Maliki is currently on a three-day trip to Tehran where he has met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other top Iranian officials. According to Iran’s state-run news agency, al-Maliki has thanked Iran for its “positive and constructive” work in “providing security and fighting terrorism in Iraq.” At Thursday’s news conference President Bush was asked about al-Maliki’s ties to Iran.

President Bush: “Now, is he trying to get Iran to play a more constructive role? I presume he is. But that doesn’t — what my question is — well, what my message to him is, is that when we catch you playing a non-constructive role, there will be a price to pay.”

After the news conference, the White House attempted to backtrack from Bush’s statement that al-Maliki would have to pay a price for his ties to Iran. A spokesperson from the National Security Council claimed that Bush’s remark was directed at Iran. Also on Thursday President Bush appeared to call on the Iranian people to change their government.

President Bush: “My message to the Iranian people is, you can do better than this current government, you don’t have to be isolated, you don’t have to be in a position where you can’t realize your full economic potential. And the United States of America will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Security Council and elsewhere to put you in a position to deny you your rightful place in the world, not because of our intention, because of your government’s intention.”

The McClatchy newspapers also report that concern is growing in Baghdad over the Bush administration’s stance on Iran. One Iraqi official said, “We don’t want Iraq to become a zone of conflict between Iran and the U.S.”