Gates: Iran Remains Threat to Region
Posted on: Saturday, 8 December 2007, 12:00 CST
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates Saturday said Iran remains a threat to regional stability, even without nuclear weapons.
Speaking to Persian Gulf allies meeting in Bahrain, Gates also said Tehran could restart its atomic weapons program at any time and should reveal its intentions, The New York Times reported.
Gates dismissed questioners who suggested that a nuclear-armed Israel is the real danger. Israel, unlike Iran, has never threatened to destroy a neighboring state, said Gates, whose comments came days after a newly disclosed U.S. intelligence estimate said Iran had frozen its nuclear weapons program in 2003.
Gates said U.S. intelligence assessments indicate Iran has deployed lethal weapons and technology to Iraq and Afghanistan while supporting terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, the Times reported.
Source: United Press International
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