Bush visits Fifth Fleet amid Iran tensions

BREAKFAST TIME: Bush takes part in a breakfast with military personnel and coalition forces. (Getty Images)

President George W. Bush visited the US Navy's Fifth Fleet on Sunday amid new tensions with Iran over an incident in which the US says its ships were harassed in the Strait of Hormuz.

Washington says Iranian boats threatened its warships on January 6 along the vital route for crude oil shipments from the world's biggest producing region.

Vice admiral Kevin Cosgriff, the commander of the Fifth Fleet, made it clear his forces took the incident "deadly seriously", White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters with Bush.

"All of the people in the military remember what's happened in the past such as the USS Cole," she said, referring to the deadly attack on the warship in Yemen in 2000.

During a stop in Israel at the start of Bush's Middle East trip last week, he warned Iran of "serious consequences" if it attacked US ships, and said all options were on the table.

Tehran has dismissed the Strait of Hormuz incident as routine contact and accused the US of exaggerating for propaganda purposes.

Bush went to the sprawling naval complex in Bahrain, a Gulf island kingdom that is home to the Fifth Fleet, before going on to Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, where he will give a signature speech on the advancement of democracy.

On the visit to Bahrain on Sunday, Bush entered a US naval mess hall to loud applause and shouted "good morning" to sailors, Marines and soldiers assembled for breakfast.

Joining the chow line, Bush picked up some pancakes, syrup and bacon, then sat down with to breakfast with the sailors.

Washington is leading efforts to isolate Iran over its nuclear ambitions, and Bush said late last year that a nuclear-armed Iran could mean "World War III".

The Bush administration has kept up a campaign of harsh rhetoric despite a US intelligence report in December that concluded Iran had halted its nuclear weapons programme in 2003, contradicting the president's longstanding assertion that Tehran was actively pursuing development of a bomb.

Bush has insisted that Iran remains a danger. Tehran says it wants nuclear technology for strictly civilian purposes.

But the National Intelligence Estimate has left Washington's Arab allies worried and confused. They share US concerns about Tehran's growing regional influence but want efforts at containment to be done without resorting to military means.

Kuwait, the first stop on Bush's Gulf tour, has said it will not allow the US to use its territory for any strike against Iran.

Saudi Arabia said ahead of Bush's arrival in the Gulf that it would listen to Bush but that national interests came first in dealing with Iran, and it could directly talk through any problems with its large Shi'ite Muslim neighbour. (Reuters)

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM