ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT: Countries in the Gulf share the US view on the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program and support an approach focused on sanctions against Tehran, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.
"I think there is general support in the region for applying the sanctions and for doing what we can to make the sanctions effective, in trying to influence the Iranian government to walk away from their nuclear weapons program," Gates told reporters on his plane after a visit to the region.
Gates visited the United Arab Emirates and Oman this week after revelations in leaked US diplomatic cables showing Gulf leaders alarmed over Iran’s nuclear work and its assertive role in region, with some demanding that Washington take military action.
The defense secretary has argued that sanctions are beginning to take a toll on Iran while warning repeatedly that a military strike would at best only delay a nuclear program for a few years while rallying the population behind the leadership.
Across the Gulf, "there clearly is concern about Iran’s overall aggressive behavior with respect to Hezbollah and Lebanon and other places around the world," he said.
The United States has favored diplomacy in its approach to Iran but refused to rule out a military strike, while Israel has made clear it is prepared to take action to prevent Tehran from attaining an atomic bomb.
Israel has publicly voiced its worries over Tehran’s uranium enrichment work but Arab leaders in the Gulf have kept their views mostly private, until the WikiLeaks website exposed their fixation with Iran by publishing a trove of secret US diplomatic files.
Gates, heading back to Washington, met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al-Nahayan on Thursday and held talks with the sultan of Oman over the weekend in Muscat.
Recounting his meeting in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, Gates said he had "productive" talks with Sheikh Mohammad that covered Iran, security threats out of Yemen and the war in Afghanistan.
"We obviously talked about Iran and the importance of the sanctions and keeping the diplomatic and economic pressure on," he said.
The two discussed promoting regional cooperation on missile defense and maritime surveillance, amid concern among Arab states over Iran’s missile stockpiles.
At the end of the briefing with reporters, Gates declined to comment when asked if he and the crown prince discussed a possible attack on Iran.
