'Increasingly nervous' about Iran, UAE wanted 'Predator' from US: Wikileaks

According to Wikileaks' new spill, UAE, which was growing increasingly nervous over Iran's nuclear activites and arm power, had sought to acquire weapons from the United States.

Abu Dhabi had begun complaining about Iran in 2005. Cautioning US on the possibility of Iran resuming its nuclear activities, Abu Dhabi crown prince Prince Mohammed bin Zayed had warned that U.S. installations in the Gulf could be targeted by Iran if US decides to strike Iranian nuclear facility targets.

As worries over Iran's growing power and unruly behavior carried on, UAE was growing increasingly nervous. In 2006, UAE said it regards Iran as one of its most serious threats to national security, and added that it was willing to support USG (United States Government) initiatives without the full approval of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

It was in 2007 when Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan tried to woo CentCom Commander General John Abizaid into agreeing to give UAE weapons to counter any threat from Iran.

Agreeing that it is only a matter of time before the Iranians develop or acquire advanced weapons technologies, including MTCR-controlled UAV technology, MbZ asserted: That's why we need it first . . . give me Predator B, according to the January 2007 cable originating from Embassy of Abu Dhabi.

The prince is also quoted as adding, Iran has to know that there is a price to pay for every decision they make. They are expanding day by day -- they have to be dealt with before they do something tragic.

However, he continued to say that UAE was not ready to confront Iran.

According to the susequent February 2007 cable, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan hosted Chief of Staff USAF General T. Michael Moseley on February 1, 2007, during which he inquired about Predator B, after warning Moseley of the growing threat from Iran.

Moseley, however, replied that the issue of Predator B would require further discussion within the inter-agency and with our MTCR partners,. The ambassador also noted that the USG looked forward to discussion of UAE defense requirements and Washington's shared security objectives in the context of the Gulf Security Dialogue.

Developed in 2000, Predator B aircraft was designed as a long-endurance, high-altitude unmanned aircraft for use as a multi-mission system by a variety of customers. Powered by a turboprop engine, Predator B holds capacity to conduct multiple missions simultaneously such as reconnaissance, surveillance, targeting, and weapons delivery due to its large internal and external payload capacity.

The whistleblowers' website Wikileaks on Sunday published morethan 250,000 diplomatic cables, which include confidential communications between 274 embassies in countries across the globe as well as the State Department. The 'cablegate' includes information dated from 1966 up until the end of February 2010.