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The Living Force
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=78835§ionid=351020101
Oman reprimands US for anti-Iran confab
Thu, 18 Dec 2008
Oman has criticized the United States for sponsoring a meeting on Persian Gulf security to which Washington did not invite Iran.
The New York meeting, the first of its kind, was held on Tuesday with the presence of several permanent members of the UN Security Council and several Arab foreign ministers. Oman and Qatar, however, boycotted the meeting because the US refrained from inviting Iran.
Omani Foreign Minister Yousuf Bin Alawi
Omani Foreign Minister Yousuf Bin Alawi explained in an interview with the Arabic-language al-Hayat newspaper that Persian Gulf littoral states must themselves ensure the security of the strategic Hormuz waterway and not Western countries, Fars News Agency reported.
We see no benefit in the meeting because Persian Gulf security is not a matter of concern for the UN Security Council, Gulf News reported Alawi as saying.
"And if there was any relation, it (the meeting) would be [held] in the presence of the 15 members of the [UN Security] Council," he added.
After the meeting, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced that Arab states had agreed to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue with the West "on a regular basis."
"All there expressed their concern about Iran's nuclear policies and its regional ambitions," Reuters quoted the US echelon as claiming.
According to Alawi, leaders of Persian Gulf littoral states had previously agreed not to interfere in the issue.
He says the meeting in New York did not benefit the region because securing the Persian Gulf is "impossible" without the help of Iran.
The US and its allies accuse Iran of making efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran says its nuclear activities are aimed at the civilian applications of nuclear technology.
Oman reprimands US for anti-Iran confab
Thu, 18 Dec 2008
Oman has criticized the United States for sponsoring a meeting on Persian Gulf security to which Washington did not invite Iran.
The New York meeting, the first of its kind, was held on Tuesday with the presence of several permanent members of the UN Security Council and several Arab foreign ministers. Oman and Qatar, however, boycotted the meeting because the US refrained from inviting Iran.
Omani Foreign Minister Yousuf Bin Alawi
Omani Foreign Minister Yousuf Bin Alawi explained in an interview with the Arabic-language al-Hayat newspaper that Persian Gulf littoral states must themselves ensure the security of the strategic Hormuz waterway and not Western countries, Fars News Agency reported.
We see no benefit in the meeting because Persian Gulf security is not a matter of concern for the UN Security Council, Gulf News reported Alawi as saying.
"And if there was any relation, it (the meeting) would be [held] in the presence of the 15 members of the [UN Security] Council," he added.
After the meeting, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced that Arab states had agreed to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue with the West "on a regular basis."
"All there expressed their concern about Iran's nuclear policies and its regional ambitions," Reuters quoted the US echelon as claiming.
According to Alawi, leaders of Persian Gulf littoral states had previously agreed not to interfere in the issue.
He says the meeting in New York did not benefit the region because securing the Persian Gulf is "impossible" without the help of Iran.
The US and its allies accuse Iran of making efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran says its nuclear activities are aimed at the civilian applications of nuclear technology.
