Bush plans huge propaganda campaign in Iran

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Bush plans huge propaganda campaign in Iran:

· Congress asked for $75m to fund programme
· Rice to visit Gulf states as nuclear crisis deepens

The Bush administration made an emergency request to Congress yesterday for a seven-fold increase in funding to mount the biggest ever propaganda campaign against the Tehran government, in a further sign of the worsening crisis between Iran and the west.

Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said the $75m (£43m) in extra funds, on top of $10m already allocated for later this year, would be used to broadcast US radio and television programmes into Iran, help pay for Iranians to study in America and support pro-democracy groups inside the country.