Tension Gulf

The United States has exacerbated tensions with Iran by selling anti-missile systems to Washington’s Arab allies in the Gulf region.The United States has raised tensions with Iran by selling anti-missile systems to Washington’s Arab allies in the Gulf region. “The Obama Administration said yesterday that it was speeding up arms sales to a number of states and that it had also deployed warships in the Gulf as defences against possible Iranian missile attacks. The moves, which include the sales of anti-missile systems to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, are being made to deter Iran from launching attacks against its Sunni Muslim neighbours and to send a message to Israel that a pre-emptive strike against Iran is unnecessary. The deployments come as President Obama enters a new phase in efforts to halt Iran’s nuclear programme after the failure of a diplomatic offensive. Washington is anxious to get a tough new round of UN sanctions against Tehran, something that China and Russia have shown little interest in backing. The new arms sales build on deals struck by George W. Bush when he was in office to develop a deterrent among the region’s Sunni nations, including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, against the predominantly Shia Iran.”