LONDON, 3 November 2007 — Bahrain’s crown prince has claimed that Iran is developing atomic weapons or the capability to do so, the first time a Gulf state has openly accused Tehran of lying about its controversial nuclear drive. In interviews with correspondents for British newspapers in the capital Manama, Sheikh Salman ibn Hamad Al-Khalifa also urged a diplomatic solution to the standoff between the West and Bahrain’s close neighbor.
“While they don’t have the bomb yet, they are developing it, or the capability for it,” the crown prince said, warning that “the whole region” would be drawn into any military conflict over this issue. “There needs to be far more done on the diplomatic front,” he added, according to The Times. “There’s still time to talk.”
“We need to be very well aware that this could escalate. And we think that is not advisable,” The Daily Telegraph quoted Sheikh Salman as saying.
“I want to see the region being fully consulted,” The Independent quoted the crown prince as saying. “We were not fully consulted when the Iraqi regime was removed. Iran is an even bigger issue... We want to be part of any arrangement that deals with Iran. We don’t want to wake up one day and suddenly find our skies darken and sirens blaring on every street.”
Bahrain hosts the US Fifth Fleet, the main American carrier battle group tasked with securing the Strait of Hormuz through which much of the world’s oil supplies must pass.
The Fifth Fleet said yesterday that US naval forces in the Gulf are conducting exercises to enhance their capacity to respond to crises. The maneuvers, which began Thursday involving amphibious, air and medical forces, are the first of a series of exercises planned in the Gulf in November “to demonstrate a wide range of capabilities, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief assistance,” a statement from the fleet said.
The statement linked the drills to potential disaster situations or oil spills without mentioning military conflict.
In London, six world powers agreed to push ahead with a third round of sanctions against Iran unless reports later this month show Tehran has shown greater transparency about its nuclear program.
Officials from Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Russia and China will meet again on Nov. 19 to assess reports from the United Nations atomic watchdog and from European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Iran has refused to halt uranium enrichment after two previous UN sanctions resolutions and denies that it wants to produce atomic bombs, saying its program is intended solely for power generation.
