DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Iran's top national security official urged his Arab neighbors Tuesday to eject the U.S. military from American bases in the region and instead join Tehran in a regional security alliance.
Ali Larijani told Arab leaders attending a conference here that Washington is indifferent to their interests and will cast them aside as soon as they are no longer useful.
"The security and stability of the region needs to be attained and we should do it inside the region, not through bringing in foreign forces," Larijani told an audience of business and political leaders from the Arab world and elsewhere, including the United States. "We should stand on our own feet."
The speech was one of the most explicit expressions yet of rising Iranian assertiveness in its contest with the United States for influence in the region.
Many Sunni Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia, have expressed misgivings about the growing influence of the Persian Shiite-dominated government in Tehran, which once sought to export its Islamic revolution and topple neighboring governments.
Tehran's nuclear program is continuing despite the threat of international sanctions, raising fears of a regional nuclear arms race. And Iran's Shiite proxy paramilitary groups have been gaining strength in Iraq and Lebanon.
Larijani assured Arab leaders listening to his speech that Iran seeks "peaceful coexistence" and could replace the security umbrella of U.S. bases now present in the region, including in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. Other countries have strong military training and U.S. security guarantee deals.....
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