IRAN LOOMS LARGE
The dominant themes of Bush's trip were Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and U.S. tensions with Iran.
Last week Bush made his first presidential visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank and said he expected the two sides to sign a peace treaty before he leaves office in January 2009.
He tried to rally Arab support for peacemaking efforts, including reaching out to Israel, during his visit to Gulf allies including Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
"They wanted to make sure that the efforts by the United States were real," Bush said on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia, considered a linchpin in any broader Israeli-Arab reconciliation, criticised Israel for settlement expansion and suggested it had no immediate plans to take any significant new steps toward Israel.
"I don't know what kind of outreach we can have for the Israelis but to offer a peace plan for the region," Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said at a news conference with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
An Arab summit last March reiterated a 2002 offer of peace with Israel if it returned occupied land.
Bush has also been trying to shore up support against Iran, and he told allies that he still considered Tehran a threat despite a U.S. National Intelligence Estimate that said Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003.
"I have spent a fair amount of time on Iran in every stop," Bush said on Tuesday.
"I just made it clear that all options are on the table, but I'd like to solve this diplomatically ... and talked about making sure consistent messages emanated from all parts of the world to the Iranians," Bush said.
Analysts say that while Washington's Arab allies are wary of Iran's growing influence in the region, they do not want to see a U.S. military confrontation with Tehran.
"Iran is a neighbouring country and important in the region. Naturally, we have nothing bad towards Iran," the Saudi foreign minister said. "We hope that Iran also responds to the international legitimacy requirements."
