The US has deepened its involvement, announcing late on Tuesday that it was stepping up weapons deliveries and intelligence-sharing in support of the Saudi-led coalition.
Already providing "logistical and intelligence" support via a "joint planning cell", the US this week announced it is stepping up weapons deliveries to the Saudis.
It said Iraq sought to hide its weapon program when United Nations monitors had access to Iraq and has stepped up its weapons research and development since they were withdrawn in 1998.
Since the chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs last month that American officials blame on the Syrian government, rebels and analysts say the Saudis have stepped up deliveries of light weapons and antitank guided missiles.
One government entity whose primary duties involved nuclear weapons research stepped up to the plate.
In December, Uzbekistan pulled out of Russia's regional security bloc, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, as it stepped up its requests for Western weapons.
More recently, the government has also stepped up its program of providing weapons to local militias and "village guards," especially in Buddhist enclaves.
"Iraq has stepped up its quest for nuclear weapons and has embarked on a worldwide hunt for materials to make an atomic bomb," the White House said.
More recently, the government has stepped up its program of providing weapons to local militias and "village guards," especially in Buddhist enclaves.
Iranian verbal attacks, if purposefully stepped up (and backed with smuggled weapons, as the Saudis allege), may further inflame opinion in Eastern Province and Bahrain, leading to bigger, destabilising demonstrations.
Iraq has stepped up its quest for nuclear weapons and embarked on a worldwide hunt for materials to make an atomic bomb, Bush administration officials said. 1 Powell Defends Iraq Position Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said in an interview that the Bush administration has been unfairly characterized as unilateralist.
