Hagel: US committed to Gulf security

MANAMA: US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel toured an anti-mine warfare ship in the US Fifth Fleet to underscore US commitment to Middle East security despite policy differences over Iran and Syria that have angered Washington's longtime Gulf allies.
He will also speak at the Manama Dialogue security conference during the visit.
The warship he toured, the USS Ponce, is to be equipped in 2014 with a new Navy laser weapon designed to deter aircraft and missiles as well as attacks by swarms of small boats like those used by Iran, on the opposite side of the Gulf.
"Our history in this area is long and proud. Our commitment to our partners in this area speaks for itself and I will assure our partners that we're not going anywhere," Hagel told troops aboard the 40-year-old vessel, recently refitted to be a floating base for anti-mine warfare and special operations.
"This region is dangerous, it's combustible, it's unstable," Hagel said.
"But having a steady American hand in this region can help our allies and reassure our allies."
Hagel planned to explain US security thinking in a speech on Saturday to the Manama Dialogue, which is broadly attended by defense figures in the Middle East.
He met bilaterally with senior leaders from several countries on Friday.
"We are clearly here at a very important time for the region," a senior US official.
"It's a somewhat tense time ... There (are) a lot of questions about US policy, about where things are going, particularly in the wake of the Iran interim agreement."
US officials said Hagel, who knows most of the region's leaders from his time in the US Senate, was seen as the best person to deliver a message of reassurance about America's commitment to Gulf security.
"This is a particular region where the relationship between the defense ministers with the secretary of defense has unique importance," another senior US official said, noting the "uniquely insecure environment" and the large amount of defense trade with the US.
Hagel told troops aboard the USS Ponce that Gulf allies should not misconstrue the US military's strategic rebalance to Asia as "retreating from any part of the world".
Iran struck an interim deal with the six powers on Nov. 24 under which it is to limit aspects of its disputed nuclear energy program in exchange for some relief from sanctions.
Hagel said the deal represented a "very wise opportunity" to see if Tehran was serious about reaching a comprehensive final accord, to be negotiated in coming months, ensuring it would never turn uranium enrichment to making nuclear weapons.