Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
CNN
March 6, 2008
CNN Newsroom, 10:00 AM
HEIDI COLLINS: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Keeping an eye on Iran, CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr just back from a trip through the Persian Gulf with the region's top U.S. commander.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Here among Dubai skyscrapers, there's a low-profile State Department office with a title you might not expect from the U.S. government, the Iran regional Presence Office. The U.S. has diplomats assigned to this office in Dubai just across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran aren't planning the overthrow of the Iranian regime, but they are keeping a close eye on developments inside Iran, and they are ready if the regime falls.
As the top commander for the Middle East Admiral William Fallon meets with counterparts regularly. Iran is topic No. 1.
ADM. WILLIAM FALLON, CMDR. U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Everybody that I talk to is concerned about Iran and their intentions. They have seen the behaviors that we have observed, and they're nervous.
STARR: This is a region that values stability. Most Gulf nations now worry Iran could wreck that.
But here in Oman there is a bit of a different point of view. Yes, there is skepticism about Iran, but many Omanis say in this part of the world it's important for everybody to get along.
Oman, like Dubai, has extensive economic relations with Iran. The U.S. continues to press Gulf allies to stop helping Iran finance illegal activities, but many Gulf nations, even with their security concerns, don't want to break relations with Tehran. One of the biggest worries, Iran's nuclear program.
FALLON: The issue is the way they're going about it, the uncertainty with enriched materials, and how one goes about generating nuclear power, and there are ways to do it.
STARR: There is a common theme among many Persian Gulf Nations. They say they don't know what Iran's intentions are, but they do not want another war in this region.
Barbara Starr, CNN, Dubai. (END VIDEOTAPE)
March 6, 2008
CNN Newsroom, 10:00 AM
HEIDI COLLINS: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Keeping an eye on Iran, CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr just back from a trip through the Persian Gulf with the region's top U.S. commander.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Here among Dubai skyscrapers, there's a low-profile State Department office with a title you might not expect from the U.S. government, the Iran regional Presence Office. The U.S. has diplomats assigned to this office in Dubai just across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran aren't planning the overthrow of the Iranian regime, but they are keeping a close eye on developments inside Iran, and they are ready if the regime falls.
As the top commander for the Middle East Admiral William Fallon meets with counterparts regularly. Iran is topic No. 1.
ADM. WILLIAM FALLON, CMDR. U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Everybody that I talk to is concerned about Iran and their intentions. They have seen the behaviors that we have observed, and they're nervous.
STARR: This is a region that values stability. Most Gulf nations now worry Iran could wreck that.
But here in Oman there is a bit of a different point of view. Yes, there is skepticism about Iran, but many Omanis say in this part of the world it's important for everybody to get along.
Oman, like Dubai, has extensive economic relations with Iran. The U.S. continues to press Gulf allies to stop helping Iran finance illegal activities, but many Gulf nations, even with their security concerns, don't want to break relations with Tehran. One of the biggest worries, Iran's nuclear program.
FALLON: The issue is the way they're going about it, the uncertainty with enriched materials, and how one goes about generating nuclear power, and there are ways to do it.
STARR: There is a common theme among many Persian Gulf Nations. They say they don't know what Iran's intentions are, but they do not want another war in this region.
Barbara Starr, CNN, Dubai. (END VIDEOTAPE)