Whoa! Really? I wonder why he sez that? But he's an expert, so he must know what he's talking about...(AKI) - A nuclear Iran would severely alter the balance of power in the region, the head of a leading Middle East think-tank has told Adnkronos International (AKI).
"With only one atomic bomb in its arsenal, it (Iran) would become an insurmountable regional power, a fact that would not contribute to the stability and security of our region," Sami al-Faraj, president of the Kuwait Centre for Strategic Studies told AKI.
"Kuwait is much closer geographically to Iran, than other Gulf Cooperation Council countries, making Iran's nuclear programme a reason to worry," he said, referring to a six-nation security and economic organisation established by Gulf states during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.
Al-Faraj was speaking at a summit entitled "Preventing nuclear proliferation in the Middle East" organised by Italy's Institute for the Study of Foreign Policy (ISPI) and the Italian Foreign Ministry.
"The difficulties the United States has had in restoring stability to Iraq, have favoured Iran, which along with its nuclear programme intends to establish itself as the sole regional power," he stated.
For al-Faraj, the political aspects of the Iranian nuclear programme are much more dangerous than its military aspects. "For Iran, nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction are cards to play in the dangerous end-game for control of the Greater Middle East - from North Africa to Central Asia," he said.