Rice accuses Iran of spreading extremism

The United States is seeking support from skeptical Arab states such as Saudi Arabia at the Annapolis conference and Rice said "responsible" Arab nations must demonstrate they believed Israel had a permanent home in the Middle East.

"The time has come to seize that opportunity and that is why we intend to hold a serious and substantive meeting in Annapolis," Rice said, without providing details.

Rice, who returned from the region last week, urged both sides to make painful sacrifices and difficult choices they needed for peace, saying the future of the entire Middle East was at stake.

Both sides are seeking to draft a joint document ahead of the meeting but have so far been unable to bridge their differences and agree on a text, which diplomats say will likely be short on specifics.

'RISING EXTREMISM'

Rice has argued more strongly in recently weeks that success in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian issue will help counter what Washington sees as a growing threat from Iran on both its nuclear program and in backing groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian Territories.