JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia As Washingtons negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program entered a crucial stage this week, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told Arab defense chiefs Wednesday that the United States would keep a robust military presence in a region where many fear the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran.While our strong preference is for a diplomatic solution, the United States will remain postured and prepared to ensure that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon, Hagel told defense ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council, a grouping of six Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf. These negotiations will under no circumstance trade away regional security for concessions on Irans nuclear program.
Hagels visit to this Red Sea city in western Saudi Arabia was meant to send a signal as diplomats from the United States and five other world powers engage with their Iranian counterparts in Vienna this week on the outlines of a deal under which Tehran would curtail its uranium-enrichment activities, which U.S. officials fear could lead to development of nuclear weapons.
Sunni Arab states have long feared that a nuclear-armed Iran could significantly boost the Shiite Islamic Republics clout in a region increasingly divided along sectarian lines.
As the negotiations with the world powers have tentatively advanced, though, Saudi Arabia appears increasingly inclined to explore closer ties with Tehran. On Tuesday, the Saudi foreign minister announced that he has invited his Iranian counterpart to visit.
Speaking to reporters after the closed-door meeting with defense chiefs from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, Hagel told reporters that he had urged his counterparts to coordinate more closely on the aid that foreign governments are providing to Syrian rebels. Washington has expressed concern that Qatar and Saudi Arabia are arming extremists.
We agreed that our assistance must be complementary and that it must be carefully directed to the moderate opposition, Hagel said.
Leaders from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states refrained from making substantive public remarks.
By The Washington Posts
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