Despite #Iran deal, #US defense chief says Pentagon to keep strong #Gulf presence
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/despite-iran-deal-us-defense-chief-says-pentagon-will-maintain-st
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks during the 9th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Regional Security Summit in the Bahraini capital Manama on December 7, 2013. (Photo: AFP - Mohammed al-Shaikh)
Diplomacy with Iran must be backed up by US military might, Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel said Saturday in a speech addressed to Gulf allies anxious over a nuclear deal with Tehran. Hagel promised the United States would maintain a 35,000-strong force in the Gulf region, as well as an armada of ships and warplanes, despite the recent deal with Tehran. Speaking at a security conference in Bahrain, he said the interim deal with Iran to roll back its nuclear program was a risk worth taking but that Western diplomacy should not be “misinterpreted.” (...)