Saudi, UAE Ready to Lobby China on Iran Sanctions

04/11/2010
Agence France-Presse
Original Source: – HYPERLINK http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2010/0302/Bluster-at-UN-Human-Rights-Council-as-US-and-Iran-trade-barbs http://www.france24.com/en/20100311-saudi-uae-ready-lobby-china-iran-sanctions-us

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have signalled a willingness to press China to support tough new sanctions on Iran, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday.
Gates and other top officials have appealed to the Saudis and UAE leaders to use their economic leverage to persuade China to lift its opposition to slapping sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.
I have the sense that there's a willingness to do that, Gates told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
The two oil-rich states were also open to lobbying Moscow on the issue although there's less need with respect to Russia, he said, as it was more supportive of sanctions.
The focus was mainly China, he added.
His comments suggested the United States could be making headway in its push to secure international support for harsh financial sanctions designed to force Iran to give up its uranium enrichment work.
In meetings in Riyadh on Wednesday and Abu Dhabi on Thursday, Gates said the talks addressed the prospects for effective sanctions and how we bring pressure on the Iranian government to change its policies.
Asked if the Saudis backed Washington's approach, Gates said: I think there is an understanding that we have to try this. This is the next step.
US attempts to open a conciliatory dialogue with Tehran had exposed the nature of the Iranian government and helped promote broad international backing for sanctions, he said.
But US efforts to rally Gulf allies against Iran drew an angry response from the country's hardline president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who accused corrupt powers of destabilising the Gulf.
What are you doing in our region? Ahmadinejad asked in a speech in the Gulf port of Bandar Abbas.
Why have you sent your armies to our area? If you think you can control the oil of Iraq and the Persian Gulf, you are mistaken, he said.
The Iranian president has traded barbs with Gates this week, as Ahmadinejad's visit to Afghanistan overlapped with the defence secretary's trip there.
In the latest in a series of high level visits to the region by President Barack Obama's deputies, Gates met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, deputy commander in chief of the armed forces in the United Arab Emirates, after talks with the Saudi king on Wednesday.
The Americans have asked the Saudi and Abu Dhabi leaders to reassure Beijing that they would be prepared to offset any shortfall in Iranian crude shipments that might result from a loss of exports.
The Washington Post has reported that Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal travelled to Beijing early this month to discuss the issue.
China's expanding economy is heavily dependent on oil imports, with Iran's supplies considered vital.
The role of the Gulf states is pivotal for the US diplomatic strategy, as they can put Iran in a financial squeeze while also ensuring a smooth flow of global oil supplies in the case of a possible cutoff of Iranian oil exports.
Gates said he explained at both stops that after Iran had dismissed US overtures for a conciliatory dialogue, the Obama administration was now focused on ramping up pressure on Tehran.
But Gates stressed in his talks that the United States wanted to see financial sanctions targeted on Tehran's Revolutionary Guard and not the country's population.
The Pentagon chief said he also discussed a broader US effort to boost air and missile defences in the Gulf in the face of Iran's growing arsenal of ballistic missiles, a serious concern for Abu Dhabi.
The United States has promised to speed up weapons sales to the UAE and other Gulf states, which have bought billions of dollars worth of American weapons in recent years.
US officials believe the arms buildup in the Gulf sends a warning signal to Iran that its nuclear and missile programmes are counter-productive.