Rice: Tehran the target of huge arms deal

Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice increased pressure on Iran on July 31 when she called the country the biggest strategic challenge to the United States and the target of a proposed $63 billion arms package. The day before, the Bush administration announced the huge arms sales package to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf state allies aimed at creating a bulwark against Iran. Speaking before a Gulf state conference at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Rice said: "There isn't a doubt that Iran constitutes the single most important single-country strategic challenge to the United States and to the kind of Middle East that we want to see." She and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who are an on a two-day trip to the region, discussed the details of the proposed arms sales and military aid with the Arab countries directly involved. Iran, which expressed alarm over the sales, accused Washington of creating an arms race to help the US defense industry. Syria, an ally of Iran, echoed this, with its foreign ministry saying: "He who wants to make peace does not start out with an arms initiative." The US wants Iran to cease work on a uranium enrichment program that Washington claims is aimed at building a nuclear weapons capability. Iran denies the charge. The arms package involves $20 billion for the Saudis and the Gulf states, $13 billion for Egypt and $30 billion for Israel. It includes warships for the Saudi fleet in the Gulf. As well as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, the conference yesterday was attended by Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. A senior US defense official involved in the talks told reporters the sales were intended to send a message to the region: "We have been here 60 years and we're going to be here a lot longer." Both the Saudis and the Gulf states, which are predominantly Sunni, fear Iran could try to stir up their Shia population. The arms sale is part of a US strategy aimed at putting a squeeze on Iran that involves everything short of war. The arms sales need to be approved by Congress, where there is concern about providing more arms to the region, particularly Saudi Arabia, and what would happen if the country collapsed. Rice is also seeking support for an international conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but several Arab states have voiced little enthusiasm.