Weinberger Meets With King Fahd
Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger met Saturday with Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd to reaffirm America’s commitment to protect shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf from Iranian attack, diplomatic sources said.
The discussions were part of Weinberger’s five-day trip to the tense region. He came here after visiting three of U.S. Navy warships that were sent in recent months to escort reflagged Kuwaiti tankers through the Persian Gulf.
Weinberger is scheduled to meet today with Arab leaders in Bahrain.
The official Saudi press agency said the defense secretary’s meeting with Saudi officials also included Crown Prince Abdullah, the first deputy prime minister, and Prince Sultan ibn Abdulaziz, the nation’s defense minister, but it gave no details of the meeting.
Diplomatic sources said one of the topics discussed was a proposed U.S. arms sale to Saudi Arabia facing difficulty in passing through Congress. The sale mainly involves 1,600 Maverick anti-tank missiles.
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