Iran 'incident' helps Bush to set his agenda

Strange this. On the eve of the first visit by the US President George W. Bush to Israel "an incident'' has occurred between the US Navy and Iranian speedboats in the Strait of Hormuz. According to the US Navy, five small boats thought to be from the Revolutionary Guards passed in front of three US vessels, dropping boxes in the water to force them to take evasive action.

The fact that the boats are believed to be from the Revolutionary Guards is significant. The Revolutionary Guards were designated a terror organisation by Bush last year, allowing for military action to be taken against them without going for Congressional approval.

At the very least, the "incident'' helps Bush set an agenda for his trip that puts the focus on Iran rather than on feeble US efforts to rein in Israel or push for what Bush himself has set a timetable for - a Palestinian state by the end of this year.

Relations between the US and Iran have been fraught in recent years, with Washington voicing concern over Iran's alleged nuclear programme and the alleged role of the Revolutionary Guards in fomenting unrest in neighbouring Iraq.

Iran is under two sets of UN sanctions for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. However, a recent US intelligence assessment concluded that Iran had shut down its clandestine nuclear weapons programme in 2003. But there have been signs of progress. In May last year the US Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, met his Iranian counterpart, breaking a 27-year diplomatic freeze between the two countries.

The Strait of Hormuz is a flashpoint where a small event can suddenly become an international incident and the limited progress that has been made will be washed away in a tide of escalating rhetoric. Iran and the US must set up channels of communication and not leave their relationship hostage to "incidents''.