Addressing a conference on Gulf security in Bahrain over the weekend, the U.S. secretary of defense spoke of "deep concerns of the U.S. and its allies" over Iran's continued quest for nuclear power.

Gates' criticism of Iran's nuclear policy was surprising, given that the NIE report issued jointly by the 16 U.S. intelligence services seemed to give Iran a clean bill of health, indicating that the Islamic republic had put a stop to its nuclear enrichment process as far back as 2003.

Indeed, not all parts of the report were made public, but Gates who was privy to the full document, said: "The report expresses with greater confidence than ever that Iran did have a nuclear weapons program – developed secretly, kept hidden for years, and in violation of its international obligations. It reports that they do continue their nuclear enrichment program, an essential long lead time component of any nuclear weapons program."

The secretary of defense added that the Iranians still have mechanisms in place to restart their program. "Iran is keeping its options open," said Gates. He added that although the report does not say so, there are no impediments to Iran's restarting its nuclear weapons program – none, that is, but the international community."

Addressing several hundred delegates attending a security summit organized by the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Manama, the capital of the small Gulf kingdom of Bahrain, Gates said, "We must keep all our options open."

He called for greater sanctions to be imposed on the Islamic republic, stressing that economic, financial, and diplomatic pressures on Iran should continue, until they suspend enrichment and agree to verification by the international community.

Gates went on to accuse Iran of funding and training of militia groups in Iraq, of applying "lethal weapons and technology" to both Iraq and Afghanistan, of continuing support to "terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas," and of continuing its research on development of medium-range ballistic missiles.

Those missiles, said Gates, "are not particularly cost-effective unless equipped with warheads carrying weapons of mass destruction."

"Everywhere you turn, it is the policy of Iran to foment instability and chaos, no matter the strategic value or cost in the blood of innocents - Christians, Muslims, and Jews."

Iran was initially scheduled to be represented at the Manama meeting by its foreign minister, Manoucher Mottaki, but decided at the last moment not to attend the conference where the U.S. secretary of defense was to deliver the keynote address.

Iran's shunning of the Bahrain security conference accentuated the growing tension between the Islamic republic and the United States. But its absence was also an indication of tension between Iran and its Gulf neighbor, the kingdom of Bahrain, home to the U.S.'s Fifth Fleet.

When asked by one of the delegates if he did not think that the United States was adopting double standards by accepting Israel having nuclear weapons while objecting to Iran's nuclear program, Gates simply said: "No, I do not."