In a Jan. 29 address to the Center for Strategic and International
Studies, Jones said Iran was under increasing pressure both from within and
abroad, Middle East Newsline reported. He said the Teheran regime was under threat of U.S. and other
sanctions for failing to halt its uranium enrichment program.
"The stakes here are enormous," Jones said. "We simply cannot afford a
nuclear arms race in the Middle East as a consequence of Iran developing
nuclear weapons and delivering these nuclear weapons."
Jones said Iran's nuclear weapons program was closely connected to the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process. He said Teheran could activate its agents
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for renewed attacks against Israel.
"As pressure on the regime in Teheran builds on its nuclear program,
there is a heightened risk of further attacks against Israel or with efforts
to promote renewed violence in the West Bank," Jones said.
Officials said the administration of President Barack Obama has also
been concerned about Iranian provocations in the Gulf. They said the White
House has approved a project to accelerate the deployment of missile defense
systems in Gulf Cooperation Council states to prevent Iranian missile
strikes.
"Our first goal is to deter the Iranians," a senior administration
official told the New York Times on Jan. 30. "A second is to reassure the
Arab states, so they don't feel they have to go nuclear themselves. But
there is certainly an element of calming the Israelis as well."
The administration plan included the deployment of Aegis-class cruisers
off the Iranian coast as well as PAC-3 and other systems in Bahrain, Kuwait,
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Each of these countries would be offered
two PAC-3 systems.
Officials said Oman has also been briefed on U.S. missile defense
systems but has not made a procurement decision. They said Oman, which hosts
British and U.S. militaries, has been careful not to anger Iran.
The effort to bolster GCC defenses has been led by U.S. Central Command.
Centcom chief Gen. David Petraeus said Iran would be monitored by Aegis
ships, equipped with anti-missile systems.
"Iran is clearly seen as a very serious threat by those on the other
side of the Gulf front, and indeed, it has been a catalyst for the
implementation of the architecture that we envision and have now been trying
to implement," Petraeus told the Washington-based Institute for the Study of
War on Jan. 22.
