Dubai: Jittery after a nearly explosive confrontation between US and Iranian ships off their shores, Gulf Arab countries have a contradictory message for visiting President George W Bush. They want the US to be tough toward Iran, but not so tough as to start a war. They want US-Iranian tensions to ease, but they don't want that to mean letting Iran have its way in crisis points like Iraq and Lebanon, where they see Tehran increasing its power. Bush heads on Friday to Kuwait, his first stop on a tour of Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, where Iran will be high on the agenda.

He was already taking a tough tone toward Iran after last weekend's incident, in which the US says Iranian Revolutionary Guards boats threatened to blow up US Navy warships. "All options are on the table" to protect US ships, Bush said yesterday in Israel, the first stop on his Mideast tour. "There will be serious consequences if they attack our ships, pure and simple. And my advice to them is don t do it." Bush has said he will work with Gulf Arab nations on strategy for confronting Iran.

But no matter how much they want Iran contained, the US's Arab allies say they have to live in Iran's shadow, making them unlikely to sign on into any public military pact against it. Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, though it has made clear the strength of its rivalry with Iran, says it is keeping its dialogue with Tehran open. "We have relations with Iran and we talk to them and if we feel there is any danger (in the region) we will talk to them about it," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said today.

Source : PTI