US, ALLIES SET TO LAUNCH ANTI-MINE NAVAL EXERCISES

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- The United States and more than two dozen allies are gearing up for the largest naval exercise ever in the Middle East focused on countering the threat of anti-ship mines. A wary Iran says it will be watching closely.

The maneuvers starting next week are the latest flexing of American military muscle in and around the Persian Gulf, even as Washington tries to convince ally Israel that diplomacy and sanctions aimed at pressuring Iran to scale back its nuclear program need more time to work.

U.S. Navy officials insist that the anti-mine exercise is not about any specific country or a response to Iranian threats to shut the narrow Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf, the route for one-fifth of the world's oil.

But the drills will likely be perceived around the world as a challenge to Tehran, which has thousands of anti-ship mines it could deploy to disrupt shipping and drive up oil prices in response to any airstrike on its uranium enrichment facilities. The U.S. and several of its allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but Iran says its atomic program is solely for peaceful purposes.