By Xinhua
Abu Dhabi : Visiting U.S. President George W. Bush accused Iran of the world’s “leading state sponsor of terror” in a policy speech delivered here Sunday afternoon.
In a speech titled “Power is a trust,” Bush said that “Iran is today the world’s leading state sponsor of terror.”
The U.S. President charged Iran with supporting Hezbollah, Hamas and Taliban, Al-Qaida and its affiliates as well as extremist Shiites in Iraq, defying the United Nations and destabilizing the region by refusing to be open about its nuclear program.
“Iran’s actions threaten the security of nations everywhere,” Bush added.
“The United States is strengthening our long-standing security commitments with our friends in the Gulf, and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late,” Bush said.
Bush earlier met with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan over the bilateral relations and latest developments in the region.
During the meeting, Bush stressed the significance of UAE-U.S. relations in all fields and particularly the fields of economy, politics and defense.
He also expressed the U.S. administration’s desire to boost and expand joint cooperation and coordination between the two countries.
Bush, who arrived in Abu Dhabi Sunday morning after winding up a visit in Bahrain, is the first sitting U.S. President who visits the UAE.
He is on a four-nation tour of the oil-rich Gulf Arab allies of the United States, which has taken him to Kuwait and Bahrain and will also bring him to Saudi Arabia, in a bid to seek Arab support for his Middle East policy.
Before Kuwait, Bush has wrapped up his landmark visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, the first time since he took office in 2000, trying to advance peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in the wake of the U.S.-hosted Annapolis peace conference last November.