US secretary of defense on Gulf tour to focus on Iran

US Secretary of Defense William Cohen is to begin a Gulf tour today returning on October 14, in which he will meet with the leaders of Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. He will also visit the US armed forces in the Gulf region.

Cohen will discuss with the Gulf ministers of defense the Gulf countries' relations with Iran and the Iraqi dispute with the UN and Turkish - Syrian tensions.

Gulf sources told ArabicNews.com today that Cohen's talks will focus on Gulf cooperation with Iran (an issue frowned upon by the US which has sanctions against Iran and US citizens doing business with Iran), although there are still US citizens in the Gulf ignoring Washington's policy of isolating Iran. The sources said they would also discuss bilateral relations with Iran.

A US senior defense official said, "The Secretary will be very interested in hearing the assessment of each of the regional leaders on their views as to what is happening in Iran, and suggestions they might make with respect to what the US might be doing."