Reply #67: U.K.: Chavez warns against war on Iran

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LONDON -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the flamboyant foe of the U.S. administration, Monday warned that military action against Iran would send oil prices rocketing and destabilize the entire world.

Speaking during a two-day visit to London, the socialist leader denounced U.S. President George W. Bush as an "assassin" who should be imprisoned for his "genocidal" policies in Iraq, and who was trying to provoke a "war of civilizations" between the West and the Muslim world.

Rather embarrassingly for British Prime Minister Tony Blair, one of Bush's closest allies, Chavez was in London at the invitation of outspoken London Mayor Ken Livingstone, known as "Red Ken" for his socialist leanings.

Not surprisingly given his one-time description of Blair as "the main ally of Hitler" because of his close relationship with the U.S. president, Chavez was snubbed by the government during his visit, but received a hero's welcome from trade unionists, members of Parliament -- including left-wing members of the ruling Labor Party -- and a host of celebrities and political activists.

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