Gates warns Iran on meddling in Iraq, Lebanon (Roundup)

Jan 15, 2007, 12:50 GMT

Brussels - Adding to growing American pressure on Iran, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Monday warned Teheran to stop meddling in Iraq and Lebanon.

Gates, visiting NATO headquarters for talks with alliance chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, also said Washington's deployment of Patriot air defence missiles and a second aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf was a sign the US was determined to stay for the long term in the region.

President George W Bush warned last week that the US would take a tough stance towards Iran and Syria, which he accused of destabilising Iraq.

Similarly strong statements have been made in recent days by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and US Vice President Dick Cheney.

Gates, at a joint news briefing with Scheffer, did not talk of direct action against Iran. But the US Defence Secretary said Teheran should not believe the US was too bogged down in Iraq to act against 'negative' behaviour by Iran.

'The Iranians clearly believe that we are tied down in Iraq, that they have the initiative, that they are in a position to press us in many ways,' said Gates.

As a result, Iranians were 'acting in a very negative way' in inciting violence in Iraq and supporting Hezbollah militias in Lebanon, he warned.

Gates ruled out an immediate diplomatic contacts with Iran but insisted that 'constructive' conduct by Teheran could create 'opportunities for engagement.

However, it was up to Iran to take up the initiative, said the Pentagon chief.

Gates, who was on his first visit to NATO since taking over from Donald Rumsfeld last month, said the US had taken a leading role in Gulf security for many decades since this was in America's long term strategic vital interest.

Sending Patriot air defence missiles and a second aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, as announced by President Bush last week as part of a new policy on Iraq, was a continuation of this strategy, Gates said.

'We are simply reaffirming that statement of the importance of the Gulf region to the United States and our determination to be an ongoing strong presence in that area for a long time into the future,' he insisted.

Scheffer said NATO had been asked by the government in Baghdad to beef up its training mission in Iraq.

Gates and Scheffer also described NATO's military operations in Afghanistan, with the Pentagon chief describing NATO's 30,000-strong military deployment in the country as 'a model of the alliance's potential in this new era.'

Seeking to ease NATO fears that violence in Iraq is distracting Washington from its commitments in Afghanistan, Gates insisted: 'Success in Afghanistan is our top priority.'

While predicting even more violence triggered by a resurgent Taliban in southern Afghanistan, Gates said he was confident the alliance would overcome all challenges in the country.

Stabilizing Afghanistan required a military response but also reconstruction and development efforts, he said.

Gates' visit to NATO comes ahead of a meeting of alliance defence ministers in Sevilla, Spain, on February 8-9.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will also be in Brussels on January 26 for a crisis meeting of NATO foreign ministers expected to focus on Afghanistan and Kosovo.