Boot U.S. out of Gulf region, Iran official says

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran's top national-security official urged Arabs on Tuesday to expel the U.S. military from bases in the region and instead join Iran in a regional security alliance.

Gulf countries, suspicious of Iran's intentions, are unlikely to push out the U.S. military or end U.S. security deals they view as offering them an umbrella of protection, many in Dubai said.

But smaller countries such as Kuwait must tread a fine line between not antagonizing either the United States or Iran. Some Gulf countries refused to participate in recent U.S. Navy maneuvers in the Gulf so as not to offend Iran.

Iran's top national-security official, Ali Larijani, apparently aimed to allay Arab concerns and raise suspicion about U.S. intentions in a speech Tuesday. He told Arab business leaders and political analysts the United States is indifferent to their interests and will cast them aside when they are no longer useful.

"The security and stability of the region needs to be attained and we should do it inside the region, not through bringing in foreign forces," Larijani said. "We should stand on our own feet."

Speakers at the Arab Strategy Forum said they believed Iran's rising clout came as a result of the faltering U.S. policy in Iraq that has put Iran's Shiite allies in control of the government.

Larijani's proposal outlines what analysts in Dubai describe as an attempt to split the Arab world into two camps: a U.S.-Israeli-Arab coalition that seeks to contain Iran and an anti-U.S., anti-Israeli alliance led by Iran.

Most Arab governments remain U.S. allies, but Persian Iran's tough stance against Israel and the West has broad grass-roots appeal.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other Sunni-dominated countries have expressed misgivings about the growing influence of Iran's Shiite-dominated government, which in the 1980s sought to export its Islamic revolution and topple neighboring governments.

"Nobody is asking the Americans to pack up and leave," said Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a Dubai-based political analyst. "There are vital American interests here and the smaller Arab countries need protection."

Larijani expressed annoyance at Arab fears about Iranian intentions, saying Iran and its Sunni-dominated neighbors have more in common with each other than with the United States or Israel.

"Some countries consider Iran a threat to the region, forgetting about Israel," he said.

Larijani assured Arab leaders Iran seeks "peaceful coexistence" and could replace the security umbrella of U.S. bases in the region, including in the Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.

"Iran is in pursuit of regional stability through integration," he said. "It stands by all the Muslim governments in the region."