SAUDI ARABIA: U.S.-allied Gulf Arab leaders call on Iran to do more to show it is not trying to obtain an atom bomb

Record ID: 189353

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: U.S.-allied Gulf Arab leaders call on Iran to do more to show it is not trying to obtain an atom bomb
  • Date: 7th May 2006
  • Summary: NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 22nd May 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: International Relations,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA2NYO0SNTS6AHS9XTGP41BIQL3
  • Story Text: U.S.-allied Gulf Arab leaders called on Iran on Saturday (May 6) to do more to show it was not trying to obtain an atom bomb, thereby saving the region from another war.
    Gulf Arab countries, wary of Iranian power since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, share U.S. concern at the prospect of Iran having a nuclear bomb but fear another military conflict in the region after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
    Gulf Arabs are also worried about the possible environmental effects of a U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear plant at Bushehr on the opposite side of the Gulf, or of leakage from unmonitored Iranian sites.
    "The nuclear file on Iran is a very important file and it is quite worrying not only for the Gulf countries but also for the rest of the world. Iran has to give guarantees to all countries and to the International Atomic Energy Agency and must be clear about its plans for a clean environment which will have an influence on future generations. That is religious and moral duty for our neighbours and the other countries in the world, " United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan told reporters after a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
    The minister declined to say whether the political and economic alliance, comprising Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the UAE, might try to use its close links to Washington to mediate in the dispute.
    He said Iran had "commitments" to its Gulf Arab neighbours as well as the international community to ease concern over its nuclear plans.
    Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and has vowed revenge if attacked by the United States or U.S. ally Israel.
    The one-day summit took place as France and Britain, with U.S. backing, drafted a U.N. resolution demanding a halt to Iran's nuclear fuel programme.
    Russia and China, which have vetoes on Security Council resolutions, may oppose sanctions against Iran, the world's fourth biggest oil exporter. The GCC states have not said what their position on sanctions would be.
    Popular concern over a nuclear Iran in the Arab world is mainly limited to the Gulf region. Iran's pro-Palestinian rhetoric plays well to Arab publics who view their governments as doing little to stand up to U.S. backing for Israel.
    Arab countries bordering Israel are at least as concerned about the Jewish state's suspected nuclear arsenal.
    Gulf countries, particularly heavyweight Saudi Arabia, fear pressure on them to follow in Iran's footsteps if obtains the bomb -- challenging the quietist ethos of Gulf states and their alliance with Washington.
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