(Scotsman) – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has warned that Iran poses the biggest threat to American interests in the Middle East as she begins a tour of the region.
Ms Rice was due to visit Egypt along with defence secretary Robert Gates after Washington confirmed plans for a massive arms deal benefiting Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The tour is aimed at uniting US allies against Iran, Syria and Hezbollah.
Ms Rice and US defence secretary Mr Gates are due to meet Arab ministers at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. During a stop-over in Shannon, Ireland, Ms Rice said: "There isn’t a doubt, I think, that Iran constitutes the single most important, single-country challenge to US interests in the Middle East and to the kind of Middle East that we want to see."
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini had accused the US of tarnishing good relations between countries of the region.
