President George W. Bush's tour of the Middle East has taken him to places he has never been before, from the battered and begrimed headquarters of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah to the horse ranch of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, which boasts a tent with poles of ebony and ivory, encased with precious stones.

But two themes have occupied Mr Bush at almost every stop - his attempt to urge the Israelis and the Palestinians towards a peace agreement and his bid to increase pressure on Iran.