France takes aim at US inaction in Mideast

French Defence Minister Florence Parly took aim Saturday at "gradual US disengagement" in the Middle East and said its failure to respond to provocations blamed on Iran set off a dangerous chain of events.

Since May, tensions in the Gulf have escalated alarmingly with attacks against tankers, a US unmanned drone being downed, and strikes on key Saudi oil facilities in September.

Iran was blamed but denied involvement, and the United States has avoided equivalent retaliation despite its Saudi ally being in the crosshairs.

"We've seen a deliberate gradual US disengagement," Parly said at the annual Manama Dialogue on regional security, adding it had been "on the cards for a while" but had become clearer with recent events.

"When the mining of ships went unanswered, the drone got shot. When that in turn went unanswered, major oil facilities were bombed. Where does it stop? Where are the stabilisers?" she asked.

"The region is accustomed to the ebb and flow of US involvement. But this time it seemed more serious." Speaking from the same stage in Bahrain, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir insisted there was no US withdrawal from the region and no doubt about its commitment.

"We believe the US is very dependable ally, and has been for the past seven decades" he said.

"There is a desire in the US historically to try to retreat from the international scene, but that desire is not is reflected in America's posture".

Jubeir defended Riyadh's measured response to the September strikes, saying the kingdom was being "strategically very patient" in its investigation so there is "not a shadow of doubt" on where the drones and missiles came from.

"We have said all along we don't want war, so to jump into war very quickly is not a rational position."
"Clearly the United States has different global priorities and this is probably not the highest global priority, but I think it remains a very important thing for the United States."
Earlier, he told the forum: "There is a lot of water to cover. Simply put, we don't have sufficient resources to be where we want to be in the right numbers all the time."