A senior US official signaled optimism about a possible resolution of the Iranian nuclear dispute but said Washington remained concerned that Iran's ballistic missiles threatened the Gulf States.
Frank Rose, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Space and Defense policy, said Washington was “acutely” aware of the Gulf States' anxieties about Iran and wanted to help them launch a Gulf-wide coordinated missile defense capability.
“We are optimistic that we'll have a successful resolution of the Iran nuclear issue but that doesn't downgrade our concern about Iran's other bad behaviors, specifically their support for terrorism as well as their continued development of ballistic missile capabilities,” Rose said on the sidelines of the Middle East Missile & Air Defense Symposium (MEMAD) which took place in Abu Dhabi, UAE on 27-28 April 2014.
“As long as Iran continues to develop ballistic missiles that can threaten the United States or deployed forces and our friends and allies in the region, we will work effectively with our partners here in the UAE as well as the rest of the Gulf to defend against that threat.”
Iran has one of the biggest missile programs in the Middle East, viewing it as an essential precautionary defense against the US and other adversaries such as Israel. The US and its allies fear such missiles could potentially carry nuclear warheads.
The Islamic Republic denies accusations that it is seeking a capability to make nuclear weapons. It insists that the missiles are part of its conventional Armed Forces and rules out including them on the agenda of the nuclear discussions.
Rose said the priority for US in the region was to develop a coordinated missile defense system for the Gulf States, something the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council lack.
Missiles are not at the heart of the talks over Iran's nuclear work, which centre on the production of fissile material usable in atomic bombs, and Rose made no comments as to whether the topic should be part of the discussions.
Retired Major General Khaled Al-Bu Ainnain, a former Commander of UAE Air Force and Air Defense, told the conference Gulf states must improve their anti-missile capabilities.
“Today, if there's a cruise missile passing through Qatar and going to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, how to share this information with neighboring countries? There has to be central operating procedures ... We don't have that,” Al-Bu Ainnain said.
He played down fears of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. “Is Iran going to do a nuclear bomb? I personally don't think so. Even if it acquired nuclear weapons, will it use it? It will never use it,” he said.
Source: Reuters
