WikiLeaks cables reflect US point of view: Gulf officials

Fav Tag: Wikileaks DUBAI: Emirati and Bahraini officials dismissed on Tuesday the WikiLeaks documents revealing the hostility of Arab Gulf states towards Iran as reflecting "an American point of view."

"The leaks reflect, originally, an American point of view," United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammad Gargash told reporters when asked to comment on the WikiLeaks documents.

"Several memos were taken out of context and did not take into consideration the events that surrounded certain meetings," Gargash said.

Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa echoed him in statements carried by the official BNA news agency in Manama.

The leaked documents "reflect the analyses of US officials and their evaluation of meetings with leaders and officials in the region," he said.

US diplomatic cables from Arab countries in the Gulf released by WikiLeaks uncovered a fixation on the Iranian threat as well as fear that conflict is inevitable.

Saudi King Abdullah has repeatedly pressed the United States to attack Iran to halt its nuclear programme, saying Washington should "cut off the head of the snake," according to an April 2008 memo.

Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed as early as 2005 expressed support for military action against Iran, according to the leaked documents.

"I believe this guy is going to take us into war," he said in 2006 of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"Al-Qaeda is not going to get a nuclear bomb; Iran is a matter of time," he said in 2009.

On the other hand, Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum is not in favour of military action, worrying about the "dire" consequences for the region, according to two 2007 memos.

Speaking of Iran's nuclear programme, King Hamad of Bahrain told US General David Petraeus in November 2009: "That programme must be stopped ... The danger of letting it go on is greater than the danger of stopping it."

Saudi Arabia said on Monday it was "not concerned" by the revelations.

"These documents do not concern the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Nor has the kingdom had any role in producing them," foreign ministry spokesman Osama Nugali told AFP.