US President George W Bush said on Sunday that Iran is threatening the security of the world, and that the US and Arab allies must join together to confront the danger “before it’s too late”.

Bush said Iran funds terrorist extremists, undermines stability in Lebanon, sends arms to the hardline Taliban regime, intimidates its neighbours with alarming rhetoric and defies the UN by refusing to be open about its nuclear programme.

“Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terror,” Bush said in a speech about democracy that he delivered about midway through his eight-day West Asia trip, which began with a renewed push for an Israeli-Palestinian peace pact — an accord he said whose “time has come”.

Chiding US allies, who have withheld civil liberties, Bush said governments will never build trust by harassing or imprisoning candidates and protesters. But his rebuke was general, and he did not single out any US partner in the region for oppressive practices.

“You cannot expect people to believe in the promise of a better future when they are jailed for peacefully petitioning their government,” Bush said. “And you cannot stand up a modern, confident nation when you do not allow people to voice their legitimate criticisms.”

Bush’s speech, reprising the call for democracy in West Asia that he made in his second inaugural address, was delivered in one of the few countries in the region — the Emirates — where democracy has not been a vital issue.

In other countries in the region, especially Egypt, the fight between democracy activists and autocratic governments has been much more pointed and controversial.

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