A State Department official once reminded me that “America has only two interests in the Middle East: Israel and oil.”

Today America fears that both are endangered by the irrational and erratic behavior of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Iran. America is alarmed by Tehran’s nuclear program above all, but also by its support for Hezbollah and Hamas and its intervention in Iraq. For those reasons America has been stepping up diplomatic pressure on moderate Arab states to do more to help. However, such states appear to be lukewarm to this appeal, partly because they are anxious to take no actions that could add to the very real tensions in the region.

This American initiative has been led by two extremely capable and well informed American politicians, neither of whom has much time for the wilder fringe of their neoconservative colleagues in the Bush administration. Both Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, and Robert Gates, the US defense secretary, have been in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh to meet Arab leaders. Such a joint visit is most unusual. Condoleezza Rice flew on to Israel for talks on Arab-Israel and Robert Gates flew to Saudi Arabia.

Condoleezza Rice’s excellent predecessor Colin Powell did not get much involved in either the Middle East peace process or other Arab issues for the simple reason that his president, George Bush, during his campaign for the White House, criticized Bill Clinton for spending too much time on a failed peace process, and Bush had other priorities. Condoleezza Rice has become a frequent and respected visitor to the Middle East.

Gates was a member of the Iraq Study Group, created by Congress with the backing of President Bush in 2006. The president was, at first, unimpressed with the group’s conclusions, but has since adopted many of its ideas. The group sensibly suggested trying to stabilize Iraq through political cooperation with countries such as Iran and Syria. Gates’ public comments on his area of responsibility come over as calm, shrewd and well judged. He is a fine contrast to the dreaded Donald Rumsfeld who did so much to damage America’s interests in the Middle East — and for that matter in Europe where he came to be regarded as a bad joke.

Before Rice and Gates set off to Egypt the Bush administration announced a proposed US arms package to certain Arab nations worth more than 10 billion pounds. US officials said the total package will strengthen these states against extremist regimes and dangerous ideologies.

In return the governments of these countries were supposed to promise to do all in their power to create stability in Iraq, and also to curb the mushrooming influence of Iran in the area. The United States would like them to use financial pressure on Iran as a way of discouraging its nuclear ambitions.

In public Rice claimed the arms deal, along with an aid package for Egypt, were not to be regarded as a trade-off for assistance, but the fruit of years of partnership and a recognition of the region’s strategic importance. She said:

“We have the same goals in this region concerning security and stability. There isn’t a doubt that Iran constitutes the single most important, single-country challenge to ... US interests in the Middle East and to the kind of Middle East that we want to see.”

For his part, Gates was keen to reaffirm on his visit to the area that his country would continue to have a strong military presence in the region. Washington fears that Arab countries may begin to believe the United States has a declining commitment to security in the region, after the very public political debate in Washington over troop levels in Iraq.

In reality, the White House regards the Iranian problem as more important than the quest for a settlement of the Arab-Israel dispute. I am sure this has been the case for some years.

At present the United States has some 159,000 troops in Iraq, including those committed to the “surge” in Baghdad and other crucial areas of conflict. As far as is known the United States still plans to have a number of large bases in Iraq even after its troops have formally handed over security matters to the Iraqi Army. I am certain this would be most unwise and it would lead to further problems.

Washington is very much aware of Israel’s sensitivities, over the United States strengthening the defense forces of Arab states with which Israel has no peace agreement, and Israel is to receive a staggering 25 percent increase in military aid over ten years.