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Defense secretary says Iranians 'overplaying their hand'

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published January 19, 2007

MANAMA, Bahrain - The Iranians are "overplaying their hand" on the world stage in a belief that setbacks in Iraq have weakened the United States, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.

Gates said he told the leaders of U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar that the Iranians "believe they have the United States at some disadvantage because of the situation in Iraq."

Asked about the prospects for military conflict with Iran, Gates said, "There are many courses of action available that do not involve an open conflict with Iran - there's no need for that."

Gates said that although he had publicly advocated negotiating with Iran as recently as 2004, he now advises against that.

"Right at this moment, there's really nothing the Iranians want from us," he said. "We need some leverage, it seems to me, before we engage with the Iranians. And I think at some point engagement probably makes sense."

Also Thursday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed back over the U.S. military buildup in the Persian Gulf, saying Iran is ready for any possibility in its standoff with the West.

The United States sent a second aircraft carrier, the USS Stennis, to the gulf this week.

Ex-official: Cheney vetoed deal with Iran

An Iranian offer to help stabilize Iraq and end its military support for Hezbollah and Hamas was rejected by Vice President Dick Cheney in 2003, a former top State Department official told the British Broadcasting Corp.

"We thought it was a very propitious moment" to strike a deal, said Lawrence Wilkerson, former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff. "But as soon as it got to the White House, and as soon as it got to the vice president's office, the old mantra of 'We don't talk to evil' ... reasserted itself."

Wilkerson said Tehran in return asked Washington to lift sanctions. Iran also offered to increase the transparency of its nuclear program, he said.

[Last modified January 19, 2007, 00:57:25]