CAIRO, Egypt — The top U.S. military officer and the secretary of state kicked off a series of visits throughout the Middle East on Sunday, reaching out to the Arab world as the Obama administration pushes for tougher sanctions against Iran and its nuclear ambitions.
The missions by top military and diplomatic officials to at least eight Middle Eastern nations reflect the latest efforts to find a solution to the Iranian nuclear problem, which could destabilize the volatile region with a nuclear-arms race.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met Sunday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and later in Tel Aviv with top Israeli military officers. Iran was a “principal topic” of discussion in Egypt, Mullen said afterward. He said he expects Iran will be the focus of his talks in Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is set to hold meetings in Qatar and Saudi Arabia during her three-day visit to the region. Aides have said Iran will lead the agenda. Top State Department deputies will travel in the days ahead to Israel, Jordan, Syria and Egypt.
In a speech Sunday at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar, Clinton warned that evidence was “accumulating” that Iran was pursing nuclear weapons. She also said the ongoing diplomatic press was designed to “figure out a way” to handle Iran’s nuclear ambitions peaceably.
As Mullen arrived in Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left for Moscow. He said he was seeking Russia’s support for “crippling sanctions” against Iran.
“I have seen Iran as an incredibly destabilizing country for a considerable amount of time,” Mullen said in Tel Aviv. “I am still hopeful that diplomacy and sanctions and dialogue will achieve a solution that doesn’t result in an outbreak of war and doesn’t result in an outcome where Iran achieves nuclear capability.”
