Washington is not seeking a military confrontation with Tehran
over its controversial nuclear programme, a senior Pentagon official
told a Gulf security conference Saturday.
"We are not seeking a military showdown with Iran. We are
not seeking military confrontation," Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Defence for the Middle East Mark Kimmitt told the conference
in the United Arab Emirates capital.
"We believe that diplomacy remains the best way to deal
with the Iranian nuclear problem," added Kimmitt, rejecting
mounting accusations from some Democratic lawmakers that the Republican
administration is seeking a new war in the region.
Kimmitt said Washington was concerned about the regional ambitions
of Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his efforts
to take advantage of the turmoil in iraq since the US-led invasion
of 2003.
"We have concerns about the hegemonic aspirations of Iran,"
he said.
"They seem to think that the removal of Saddam from power
in Iraq and the absence of a regional counterweight provides them
with the licence to expand their influence and presence throughout
the Gulf."
Opening the one-day security conference, UAE Education Minister
Sheikh Nahayan Mubarak al-Nahayan stressed the "importance
for the whole world" of the security of the six oil-rich
Gulf Arab states.
The seminar precedes the Middle East's biggest arms show, IDEX-2007,
which opens Sunday and runs to Thursday.
Email
