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U.S. bolsters allies against Iran

DUBAI: The United States has stepped up efforts to shore up Arab support against Iran and Syria. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates are at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for a meeting with Arab allies, including the six countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Setting the tone for her West Asia visit, Ms. Rice said before her arrival in the region, “There isn’t a doubt, I think, that Iran constitutes the single most important, single-country challenge to... U.S. interests in the Middle East [West Asia] and to the kind of Middle East that we want to see.”

Apart from the Iranian nuclear programme, the Americans are concerned about Iranian influence among the majority

Shias in Iraq and Lebanon. Syria is a major ally of Iran and Tehran’s influence within the Palestinian militant group Hamas is widespread.

Later, after a meeting with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, Ms. Rice said she discussed with him the situation in Iraq and Lebanon, as well as the prospects for the emergence of an independent Palestinian state, co-existing with Israel.

After Egypt, Ms. Rice would travel to Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinian West Bank.

Ms. Rice’s comments come shortly after Washington confirmed that it was arming its allies: Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries with billions of dollars worth of weaponry. Israel would get $30-billion worth of weapons over the next 10 years. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries would receive a $20-billion arms package, which would be delivered in phases. Responding to the American moves, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini stressed that the U.S. was attempting to undermine the good relations among countries of the region.

Xinhua reports:

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak conferred with Ms. Rice and Mr. Gates on efforts to revive the West Asia peace process.

The talks focused on the Palestinian issue and U.S. President George Bush’s call for holding an international peace conference in this fall to promote the peace process.

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