If you cannot find Osama, bomb Tehran......

White House: 'We are sure it was Iran'.

Sound familiar?

Q: Mr. Secretary, going back to Riyadh for just a moment, as you have stressed when you are there, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia continue to have close military ties. But I'm wondering, is there any concern about Saudi Arabia's military failing to protect the compound? And also, since most of the terrorists are known to have come from Saudi Arabia, any concerns about Saudi Arabia cracking down on terrorists?

Rumsfeld: The -- I'm not intimately knowledgeable about who protected what or whatever. I'm aware of the general intelligence that led to the visit. I'm aware of what was communicated. But what took place on the ground, I think we'll let the embassy discuss and describe, not me.

There -- we're finding terrorists from all over the world, from almost every country you can name. And there's no question but that the Saudi government can play an important role in working with the United States and with other countries in attempting to bring all elements of national power to bear to reduce the threats of terrorism

Q: But, Mr. Secretary, given the attacks in Riyadh this week, how would you assess the U.S. efforts to find the terrorists and stop them?

Rumsfeld: I would say that if you go back to September 11th and think of what's taken place in the intervening period, there have been notable, significant accomplishments. There have been the denial of Afghanistan as a haven for the al Qaeda and training camps for terrorists that were then spread around the world.

Third, there are still countries that are harboring terrorists. I mean, we know there are senior al Qaeda in Iran, for example, presumably not an ungoverned area.

In their public remarks today, Mr. Boucher and other administration officials declined to say whether a clear connection had been established between the Qaeda leaders they say are in Iran and last week's bombing attacks in Saudi Arabia. But the tenor of their comments echoed what other administration officials, speaking privately, have described as deep concern about intercepted communications strongly suggesting that the Qaeda leaders said to be in Iran played a role in directing the bombings in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, that killed 34 people, including 8 Americans.

In a separate appearance, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said: "There's no question but that there have been and are today senior Al Qaeda leaders in Iran. And they're busy."

Since the war in Afghanistan, American officials have expressed concern over what they say is the presence of Qaeda operatives in Iran, and they have complained periodically about Iranian inaction on the issue.

But the level of American anger has risen sharply in recent days because of what administration officials have described as clear evidence of communications between Qaeda officials in Iran and others outside the country about terrorist operations, including the Saudi attacks.

The Pentagon has proposed a policy of regime change in Iran, after reports that al-Qaida leaders are coordinating terrorist attacks from Iran.