US Vice President Dick Cheney is slated to leave Washington DC on Sunday for a 10-day trip to the Middle East that includes stops in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel and a visit to the Palestinian Authority-controlled regions.
Iran tops Cheney's agenda for talks in each of the countries; in Jerusalem, the problem of nuclear development in the Islamic Republic will share top billing with the ongoing difficulties in final status negotiations between Israel and the PA.
Cheney's visit will be followed by the arrival of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is expected to leave Washington in 10 days for another shuttle diplomacy mission to move the Israel-PA talks along ahead of President George W. Bush's trip to the region, scheduled for May.