Gulf countries challenge U.S. on Iran and "Israel" at security conference
Source: AP & The Canadian Press, 2007
MANAMA, Bahrain - Gulf Arab countries challenged U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on American policies toward Iran and "Israel" on Saturday, after he urged them to force Tehran to stop uranium enrichment.
Several delegates at the regional security conference in Bahrain said U.S. was hypocritical for supporting "Israeli" nuclear weapons, and questioned Washington's refusal to meet Iran to discuss the Islamic state's nuclear activities.
"Not considering 'Israel' a threat to security in the region is considered a biased policy that is based on a double standard," said Abdul-Rahman al-Attiyah, the secretary general of the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council.
Experts have long maintained "Israel" has nuclear weapons, although the Zionist state refuses to confirm or deny it.
The dissent from Gulf Arab delegates highlights fissures between the United States and its Sunni Muslim allies despite their wariness of Shiite Iran's growing influence.
Iran decided at the last minute to skip Saturday's meeting, the second day of the conference.
During his speech, Gates stressed the danger of Iran's nuclear program despite a new U.S. intelligence report earlier this week that said Tehran halted atomic weapons development in 2003 and hasn't resumed it since.
The report was a dramatic reversal from a previous report claiming Iran restarted the program in 2005.
Soon after Gates' speech, the defense secretary was challenged by Bahraini Minister of Labor Majeed al-Alawi, who wanted to know whether Gates thought "the Zionist ('Israeli') nuclear weapon is a threat to the region."
Gates paused, and answered tersely: "No, I do not."
Asked if U.S. acceptance of that was a double standard in light of Washington's pressure on Iran, Gates again said "no," and described the government in Jerusalem as more responsible than the one in Tehran.
"I think 'Israel' is not training terrorists to subvert its neighbours. It has not shipped weapons into a place like Iraq to kill thousands of innocent civilians covertly," said Gates. "So I think that there are significant differences in terms of both the history and the behaviour of the Iranian and 'Israeli' governments."
The U.S. and many of its allies have passed two rounds of United Nations sanctions on Tehran over concerns Iran could use uranium enrichment to secretly develop nuclear arms. Iran has spurned the international community, saying its program is only peaceful.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani countered Gates' comparison of Iran and "Israel".
"We can't really compare Iran with "Israel". Iran is our neighbour, and we shouldn't really look at it as an enemy," said Sheik Hamad. "I think 'Israel' through 50 years has taken land, kicking out the Palestinians, and interferes under the excuse of security, blaming the other party."
U.S. support for "Israel" is very unpopular in the Middle East, even among closely allied Gulf states, and Washington's unconditional support for "Israeli" nuclear development has complicated its push against Iran.
Sheik Hamad also called on the U.S. to hold direct talks with Iran over its nuclear activities. After major Arab countries recently attended the "Israeli"-Palestinian peace conference in Annapolis, the U.S. should show the same initiative with Iran, he said.
"As an Arab (country), we went to the United States ... to make a dialogue with the 'Israelis', so why doesn't the United States do a dialogue with Iran?" said Sheik Hamad. "I think that is the only way ... they can understand each other in the matter."
The U.S. has refused to hold direct talks with the Iranians until they suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for a nuclear reactor or fissile material for a bomb.
MANAMA, Bahrain - Gulf Arab countries challenged U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on American policies toward Iran and "Israel" on Saturday, after he urged them to force Tehran to stop uranium enrichment.
Several delegates at the regional security conference in Bahrain said U.S. was hypocritical for supporting "Israeli" nuclear weapons, and questioned Washington's refusal to meet Iran to discuss the Islamic state's nuclear activities.
"Not considering 'Israel' a threat to security in the region is considered a biased policy that is based on a double standard," said Abdul-Rahman al-Attiyah, the secretary general of the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council.
Experts have long maintained "Israel" has nuclear weapons, although the Zionist state refuses to confirm or deny it.
The dissent from Gulf Arab delegates highlights fissures between the United States and its Sunni Muslim allies despite their wariness of Shiite Iran's growing influence.
Iran decided at the last minute to skip Saturday's meeting, the second day of the conference.
During his speech, Gates stressed the danger of Iran's nuclear program despite a new U.S. intelligence report earlier this week that said Tehran halted atomic weapons development in 2003 and hasn't resumed it since.
The report was a dramatic reversal from a previous report claiming Iran restarted the program in 2005.
Soon after Gates' speech, the defense secretary was challenged by Bahraini Minister of Labor Majeed al-Alawi, who wanted to know whether Gates thought "the Zionist ('Israeli') nuclear weapon is a threat to the region."
Gates paused, and answered tersely: "No, I do not."
Asked if U.S. acceptance of that was a double standard in light of Washington's pressure on Iran, Gates again said "no," and described the government in Jerusalem as more responsible than the one in Tehran.
"I think 'Israel' is not training terrorists to subvert its neighbours. It has not shipped weapons into a place like Iraq to kill thousands of innocent civilians covertly," said Gates. "So I think that there are significant differences in terms of both the history and the behaviour of the Iranian and 'Israeli' governments."
The U.S. and many of its allies have passed two rounds of United Nations sanctions on Tehran over concerns Iran could use uranium enrichment to secretly develop nuclear arms. Iran has spurned the international community, saying its program is only peaceful.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani countered Gates' comparison of Iran and "Israel".
"We can't really compare Iran with "Israel". Iran is our neighbour, and we shouldn't really look at it as an enemy," said Sheik Hamad. "I think 'Israel' through 50 years has taken land, kicking out the Palestinians, and interferes under the excuse of security, blaming the other party."
U.S. support for "Israel" is very unpopular in the Middle East, even among closely allied Gulf states, and Washington's unconditional support for "Israeli" nuclear development has complicated its push against Iran.
Sheik Hamad also called on the U.S. to hold direct talks with Iran over its nuclear activities. After major Arab countries recently attended the "Israeli"-Palestinian peace conference in Annapolis, the U.S. should show the same initiative with Iran, he said.
"As an Arab (country), we went to the United States ... to make a dialogue with the 'Israelis', so why doesn't the United States do a dialogue with Iran?" said Sheik Hamad. "I think that is the only way ... they can understand each other in the matter."
The U.S. has refused to hold direct talks with the Iranians until they suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for a nuclear reactor or fissile material for a bomb.
