Saudi Arabia told US to bomb Iran: WikiLeaks

A number of Middle Eastern nations have expressed concern over Iran's aspirations of becoming a nuclear armed state, according to the secret cables released by whistleblower website WikiLeaks.

Saudi Arabia's leader King Abdullah has even asked the US to consider bombing Iran's nuclear facilities, reveal the cables.

"He told you (US administration) to cut off the head of the snake," the Saudi ambassador to Washington Adel al-Jubeir is quoted as saying.

Other neighbours of Iran are equally paranoid about its might, with Jordan and Bahrain urging US to stop Iran's nuclear programme 'by any means'.

Iran is often referred to as 'evil' and an 'existential threat', while its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will 'take the volatile region' to war, believe many.

The cables reveal US's anxiety about Israel deciding to undertake a military strike against Iran, after the country's military intelligence chief Major General Amos Yadlin warned last year: "We are not in a position to underestimate Iran and be surprised like the US was on September 11, 2001."

Israel has taken the most aggressive stance on Iran's nuclear ambitions, repeatedly threatening a military strike and urging the US to be more pro-active. Israel and its ally US both believe that time is running out to contain Ahmadinejad.

The Jewish nation has publicly stated that military action is the only way to prevent or stop Iran's nuclear programme.

King Abdullah has warned the Obama administration that once Iran manages to develop nuclear weapons, the entire Middle East will jump into the fray for nuclear armament.

"Bomb Iran, or live with an Iranian bomb," a Jordanian politician told an US official, says a WikiLeaks release.

"Personally, I cannot risk it," Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed told US officials, warning them against the ambitious Ahmadinejad.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak claimed that "Iran is always stirring trouble" and a nuclear-armed Iran would be "the biggest threat to non-proliferation efforts since the Cuban missile crisis".