ABU DHABI -- Leaders of six pro-U.S. Gulf Arab states meet on Sunday to discuss Iran's nuclear ambitions and a U.N.-Syria standoff, concerned that an escalation of these disputes could rock a region already suffering from instability in Iraq. "There is concern that Iran's nuclear program could be weaponised. At the end of the day they (Iranians) are building a nuclear reactor across the Gulf," one Gulf official said.
"There is also concern that if there is any military action (on Iran), Iran might retaliate and attack pro-U.S. allies in the Gulf," he said ahead of the two-day annual meeting held in the United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi.
| Yup, they'd be that crazy, wouldn't they? |
Foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meet on Saturday ahead of the summit, which some analysts expect will call for intensified diplomacy with Iran. The GCC groups Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
"GCC countries are getting worried that things in Iran are getting out of hand," N. Jahardhan, analyst at independent think thank Gulf Research Center. "The GCC realizes Iran is definitely a threat...Things have reached a critical stage and they feel they will bear the brunt of any escalation. It is clear that there is no defined policy in Iran about what to do if it is attacked."
Iran's controversial nuclear program is fuelling regional and Western fears that it is seeking to develop weapons, which Tehran denies. But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's verbal salvos at Israel -- in which he called for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map -- are stoking fears about its nuclear activities and making Gulf states even more anxious.
| Ahmadinejad's a real diplomat, eh? |
Any talks by the Sunni-led GCC with Shi'ite Iran would also focus on Tehran's growing influence in Iraq where Shi'ites gained power after the ouster of Saddam Hussein. Saudi Arabia has bluntly accused Iran of meddling in Iraqi affairs. |