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WikiLeaks: Arab Leaders Urged US To Attack Iran

33 mins ago
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Arab rulers secretly lobbied the US to launch air strikes to destroy Iran's nuclear programme, leaked US diplomatic messages reveal. Skip related content
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Have your say: Iran

Details from more than 250,000 embassy cables obtained by WikiLeaks have been published by a number of newspapers the whistleblowing website has allowed to preview them before putting them online.

The site says it will publish the documents in stages over the next few months, as "the subject matter, is of such importance, and the geographical spread so broad, that to do otherwise would not do this material justice".

The Guardian says it will publish details later this week of cables relating to the UK - including allegations of "inappropriate behaviour" by a member of the Royal Family which was said to have "startled" US diplomats.

The documents are also said to include "serious political criticism" of David Cameron and "devastating criticism" of British military operations in Afghanistan.

Potentially most seriously of all for the UK, the newspaper said that the cables included requests for "specific intelligence" about British MPs.

The governments of Britain and the US have strongly condemned the leaks, saying they could put national security and the safety of individuals at risk.

The main focus of the first batch of material released is about US interests.

The most striking of the initial disclosures is that Arab leaders have been privately urging the US to take military action to halt Iran's nuclear programme before it is too late.

The King of Bahrain was quoted as telling US diplomats that Tehran's nuclear drive "must be stopped".

He was said to have been backed by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who was said to have repeatedly urged Washington to "cut off the head of the snake" while there was still time.

The cables are said to include a US assessment that Iran has obtained advanced missiles from North Korea that could enable it to strike Western European capitals and Moscow.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20101129/twl-wikileaks-arab-leaders-urged-us-to-a-3fd0ae9.html