Sunday, December 14, 2008

The Wall Street Journal, Manama, Bahrain, 13 December 2008, , — Defense Secretary Robert Gates has long advocated diplomatic engagement with Iran, an idea that is also a top priority of the incoming Obama administration.
But a high-profile security summit here is offering a vivid reminder of how hard it will be for the U.S. and Iran to move past their mutual mistrust.
Mr. Gates, in a speech to be delivered Saturday, accused Iran of fomenting instability in Iraq and continuing to pursue both nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. Iran’s “every move seems designed to create maximum anxiety in the international community,” Mr. Gates said, according to the prepared text of his remarks.
Iran sent only a low-ranking delegation to the conference. Conference organizers had earlier indicated that Tehran would send Ali Larijani, a prominent diplomat who was formerly the country’s top nuclear negotiator.
Speaking to the Manama summit last year, Mr. Gates said Iran was responsible for fomenting “instability and chaos, no matter the strategic value or the cost in the blood of innocents — Christians, Jews and Muslims alike.”
He also said the U.S. would “keep all our options open” when it came to Iran — a comment widely seen as a veiled threat to use military force if Iran didn’t abandon its nuclear program.