Both Iran and Arab Gulf states see dialogue as the only way to address fears over the Iranian nuclear file, Rasha Saad reports Iran this week engaged in dialogue with Arab Gulf countries in an attempt to ease escalating fears over the Islamic republic's nuclear programme. A landmark visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Kuwait Monday was seen in this context. Ahmadinejad's brief visit was the first by an Iranian head of state since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The Iranian president made a point of reassuring Arab Gulf countries about Tehran's nuclear programme, saying his country was a "good neighbour" that wanted regional stability, underlining that "we [Iranians] are just working on nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes." Ahmadinejad also supported US and Arab Gulf calls for the Middle East to become a nuclear-free zone. "We too demand that the Middle East be free of nuclear weapons; not only the Middle East, but the whole world should be free of nuclear weapons," Ahmadinejad said. Referring to the US and Israel, he added: "We believe that these weapons, possessed by the superpowers and the occupiers in our area, are a threat to stability." The significance of the visit lies also in that it comes on the heels of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to the United Arab Emirates last Friday. The visit wrapped up a Middle East tour in which Rice sought more pressure on Iran -- among other matters -- which the West has accused of seeking to develop nuclear arms, ahead of a crucial IAEA meeting next Monday. A joint statement issued at the end of the meeting stressed both sides' "fears and serious concerns about this [nuclear] proliferation in the Gulf region," and reaffirmed "the necessity of keeping the Gulf region free from weapons of mass destruction". According to informed Iranian analyst Mohamed Sadeq Al-Husseini, Tehran got the US message. "Iranians completely comprehend the US pressures and were keen to ease the fears of its Gulf brethren," Al-Husseini told Al-Ahram Weekly. Al-Husseini said that Iran, which according to him has failed before to market its legitimate rights to a peaceful nuclear programme, is now engaged in "negotiations [with Arab Gulf states] in a calm and friendly atmosphere." Talks are being held, Al-Husseini says, with Qatar, Oman and "undisclosed negotiations" are underway with the Saudis. Al-Husseini, who accompanied former president Mohamed Khatami on a recent Gulf tour, said that Iranians are not worried of the consequences of Rice's visit because they have heard from Gulf leaders assurances that they are not supporting any escalation against Iran. Al-Husseini said that the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, told them that he informed the Americans that "Qatar and the rest of the Gulf countries are against the escalation of the Iranian nuclear issue in any way, and that the Arabs cannot afford another war in the region." In this context the joint US-Gulf statement understandably fell short of criticising Iran. Arab Gulf countries are very cautious when it comes to dealing with Iran in this matter for more than one reason. While some may see the US as demonising Iran to the Arab Gulf countries as a way to increase pressure on Iran and to serve its own interests, it is also true that these countries have, and likely will, resist any attempt at confrontation with Iran as they have their own genuine fears. The first of these fears concerns the increasing and uncontrolled influence of Iran in Iraq. Concerns about this growing influence were sounded loudly by Saudi Arabia last September. Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said that the US invasion and occupation had widened sectarian rifts to the point of handing Iraq to Iran. His statements were interpreted then as reflecting Sunni Saudi Arabia's alarm at the growing influence of Iraq's Shia majority since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The Saudis also fear that if Iran develops a nuclear bomb the balance of power in the region would tip on its side, marginalising them. Other governments echo fears of an environmental crisis by bringing a Chernobyl-type plant from the Soviet Union and putting it within tens of kilometres of the shores of the Arabian Gulf. This prospect, they argue, makes them wary of even a peaceful nuclear energy programme in Iran. However, Arab Gulf states know they must avoid confrontation with Iran. The biggest nightmare for them is to have sectarian conflict spill out of Iraq and encompass the whole region. Security is thus their prime concern. They worry that a nuclear-backed Iranian government would feel emboldened to stir up fellow Shias in neighbouring countries, leading to civil unrest. During the 1980s, Gulf governments blamed Iranian-sponsored groups and protests for stirring riots in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other Gulf states. Economically, the Arab Gulf countries and Iran are major trade partners. Trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and Iran increased from $12.8 million to $2 billion in 2004. The United Arab Emirates, despite tensions with Iran over the three islands of Abu Tunb and Greater and Lesser Mussa, is a major market for Iranian imports and the fifth largest exporter to Iran. In 2003, trade with Iran reached its highest level to date at $4.4 billion, or 14 per cent of the total exchange between Iran and the world. Some Arab countries are also involved in easing tension between the Gulf States and Iran. Informed Arab sources revealed to the Weekly that some Arab governments are urging Arab Gulf countries to stop antagonising Iran over the nuclear issue, underlining that fears are based only on suspicion as yet unproven by the IAEA while Israel is known to possess nuclear weapons. "The worries of the Gulf countries should be more focused on Israel with its 200 nuclear warheads that can actually reach their territories," one source remarked.
