The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Manama

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Saturday said Iran's foreign policy was a threat to the United States, the Middle East and all countries within range of missiles Tehran is developing.

"There can be little doubt that their destabilising foreign policies are a threat to the interests of the United States, to the interests of every country in the Middle East, and to the interests of all countries within the range of the ballistic missiles Iran is developing," Gates told a conference on regional security in Bahrain.

Iran is also "funding and training" militias in Iraq, supporting "terrorist organisations" such as Hezbollah and Hamas and developing "medium-range ballistic missiles that are not particularly cost-effective unless equipped with warheads carrying weapons of mass destruction," Gates added.