ABU DHABI: US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is meeting on Thursday with Emirati leaders on Iran’s nuclear programme and Al Qaeda threat in Yemen, as WikiLeaks exposed Gulf Arab fears of the Islamic republic. Gates was to meet the deputy commander of the United Arab Emirates armed forces, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed al-Nahayan.
Their talks will touch on military cooperation and “challenges that we are working together to try to solve,” press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters travelling with the Pentagon chief. They will also discuss “a range of bilateral and regional security issues,” Morrell said.
“They’ll likely to discuss the situation in Iraq, as well as Yemen, and certainly Iran.”
Gates’ visit to the UAE capital comes hot on the heels of the leaking of US diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks, detailing dismay among Gulf Arab states about Iran’s controversial nuclear programme and its growing missile arsenal.
Some Gulf leaders even pressed Washington to take military action against Iranian nuclear facilities, according to the US cables.
Most famously, Saudi King Abdullah was quoted as telling the United States in April 2008 to “cut off the head of the snake.”
In a US embassy cable dated July 23, 2009, the Abu Dhabi crown prince warned US officials that “the Iranian response to a pre-emptive (Israeli) strike… would be attacks on US allies in the region, foremost among them the UAE.”
US defence chief in Gulf to discuss Iran, Yemen
