US President George Bush yesterday warned that Iran was threatening the security of the world and that the United States and its Arab allies must join together to confront the danger "before it's too late".
Mr Bush said Iran funds terrorist extremists, undermines stability in Lebanon, sends arms to the hard-line Taleban, intimidates its neighbours with alarming rhetoric and defies the United Nations by refusing to be open about its nuclear programme.
"Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terror," Mr Bush said in a speech about democracy in the United Arab Emirates.
He is mid-way through an eight-day tour of the Middle East, which began with a renewed push for an Israeli-Palestinian peace pact – an accord whose "time has come", he said.
Criticising US allies who have withheld civil liberties, Mr Bush said governments will never build trust by harassing or imprisoning candidates and protesters.
But his rebuke was general and he did not single out any US partner in the region for oppressive practices.
"You cannot expect people to believe in the promise of a better future when they are jailed for peacefully petitioning their government," Mr Bush said.
"And you cannot stand up a modern, confident nation when you do not allow people to voice their legitimate criticisms."
Mr Bush's speech, reprising the call for democracy in the Middle East that he made in his second inaugural address, was delivered in one of the few countries in the region where democracy has not been a vital issue – the Emirates.
In other countries in the region, specially Egypt, the fight between democracy activists and autocratic governments has been much more pointed and controversial.
The president praised some democratic reforms among Arab nations and urged regional leaders to support the fragile Iraqi government, open their societies and provide backing and possibly funding for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement.
Mr Bush is privately trying to allay the concerns of Persian Gulf allies nervous about Iran's military might and spreading influence
after the confrontation between US and Iranian naval vessels off their shores earlier this month, but are seeking assurances that Mr Bush does not want war. Any attack on Iran could bring retaliation against military bases on Arab soil or choke the lucrative oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
"Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere," Mr Bush said, calling on the Iranian government to make itself more accountable to its citizens. "So the United States is strengthening our long-standing security commitments with our friends in the Gulf, and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late."
Earlier yesterday in Bahrain, Vice-Admiral Kevin Cosgriff, commander of the US Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols the Gulf, told Mr Bush that he took it "deadly seriously" when a fleet of high-speed Iranian boats charged at a three-ship US Navy convoy passing near Iranian waters on 6 January. The Iranian naval forces vanished as the American ship commanders were preparing to open fire.
Mr Bush was speaking at the Emirates Palace, an opulent, gold-trimmed hotel where a suite costs £1,250 a night.
'MONKEY' BLAMED IN STAND-OFFA MISCHIEVOUS heckler nicknamed the "Filipino monkey" may have been responsible for nearly triggering a military showdown between the US and Iran at the mouth of the Persian Gulf last week.
Some experts now believe the prankster could have issued the radio message to US warships threatening: "I am coming to you. You will explode in a few minutes."
Pentagon officials initially claimed the warning had come from one of five Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboats that allegedly harassed three US Navy warships, which came within seconds of opening fire in self-defence on 6 January.
They have since said they do not know the source of the radio transmission.
Iran denied its forces threatened the US vessels and insisted Washington should apologise.
