U.S. and Iran Vie for Gulf Allies

Posted on May 10, 2007

The Gulf nations of the Mideast have long been allies of the U.S. and Vice President Dick Cheney has been dispatched to make sure that doesn’t change, but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is also visiting the region in an attempt to win over disgruntled governments. Mustafa Alani, a regional analyst, sums up how the Gulf is handling all the attention: “We have a deep mistrust of both sides.”

---

AP via Yahoo:

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—Iran and America are courting the Gulf Arab states with the near-simultaneous visits of Vice President Dick Cheney and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this week.

Both are touring the energy-rich region and landing days apart in the wealthy United Arab Emirates, where the government was said to be carefully choreographing their arrivals and departures.

Cheney was expected to fly from Iraq to the Emirates capital Abu Dhabi on Thursday. Ahmadinejad, who is expected to be greeted with great fanfare as the first ever Iranian head of state to visit, is expected Sunday, after spending two days in neighboring Oman.

Read more

More Below the Ad

Comments

Are you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig.