WASHINGTON, Jan 15: The US State Department announced on Tuesday that the Bush administration had notified Congress of its intention to sell 900 satellite-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia for $120 million.

The weapons are the first part of a planned 20-billion-dollar deal announced in July, and the notification begins a 30-day period for Congress to raise objections.The announcement coincided with the arrival of President George Bush in Saudi Arabia -- on the latest leg of a tour aimed at countering what he calls the “threat” from Iran and promoting his vision of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Bush administration says the Saudi deal is needed to counter Iran.

Speaking in Riyadh to a pool of journalists travelling with him, Mr Bush reiterated his threat that Iran would face “serious consequences” if it should “hit” or “destroy” American ships, following a naval incident in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month.

Mr Bush has made clear that what he calls the threat posed by “the world’s leading state sponsor of terror” is top of the agenda of his week-long Middle East tour.

“The United States is strengthening our long-standing security commitments with our friends in the Gulf -- and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late,” he said in a keynote speech in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday.

But diplomats said Mr Bush was faced with “difficult talks” in Saudi Arabia which, like other Gulf states, is determined to avoid further conflict in the region after the US-led invasion of Iraq of 2003.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told journalists that Mr Bush had however said “I do believe that this problem can be solved diplomatically.”

But an editorial in the Saudi Arab News criticised Mr Bush for his continued “sabre-rattling”.

“To continue such dire warnings was inconsiderate given that Bush was the guest of Gulf states which are on Iran’s doorstep. Such warnings were not what we wanted to hear,” it said.

The main thrust of his eight-day visit to the region was to bolster revived peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. —AFP