In the course of Iran international crisis, large parts of the Arab world and the United States started a joint effort to put Iran under economic, diplomatic and military pressure.

Determined to halt the Iranian nuclear programme, the United States has sought to lure its largely Sunni Arab allies into adopting positions that are likely to antagonise Shia- dominated Iran.<ref>[2130]</ref>

Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani accused the United States of fanning Iranian-Arab tensions and inciting divisions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims with the aim of dominating the Middle East. "The Americans occasionally resort to sabotaging relations among these countries through stirring up Sunni-Shiite disputes or through inciting the Arab-Iranian discord," he said.<ref> Affairs</ref>

Condoleezza Rice

In October 2006 US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice started a tour through the Middle east to initiate an Anti-Iranian coalition consisting of "moderate" Arab countries and Israel. As the columnist Saul Singer wrote in the Jerusalem Post: "Every time the White House decides to confront a rogue regime, the state department decides it's time to build a coalition." Another writer, Abdallah Iskandar, put it this way in Al Hayat newspaper: "Condoleezza Rice arrives in the region today. Her announced aim is to revive the Middle East peace process and stiffen the Arab position against Iran.<ref>[2131]</ref>

During their meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the foreign ministers of the six Gulf Cooperation Council member countries, Jordan and Egypt pledged backing for Bush’s new strategy that envisages, among other things, the dispatch of 20,000 additional US troops to Iraq. A statement issued by the eight Arab foreign ministers said: "The participants welcomed the commitment by the United States as stated in President Bush’s recent speech to defend the security of the Gulf, the territorial integrity of Iraq and to ensure a fair and inclusive political process that engages all Iraqi communities." They also called for the restraining of Shia militias, the involvement of all components of the Iraqi people in the political process and the revision of the US-backed Iraqi constitution, seen as pro-Shia by many Sunni leaders.<ref>[2132]</ref>

Sanctions

In 2007, US and Saudi Arabia started a joint effort to put Iran under economic pressure. The new strategy consists of measures to impose financial stress on one side and an energy policy of isolating Iran on the other side.<ref>[2133]</ref>

The financial measures consist not just of sanctions against Iran agreed to by the UN Security Council in December 2006 but also in the donors' conference for Lebanon in Paris in January 2007. The toughened UN sanctions are beginning to have some impact on Iran's domestic economy and on its ability to do business and raise money internationally. Meanwhile, the Lebanon conference is demonstrating that the US-Saudi coalition can easily match and exceed the financial subsidies channelled by Iran to Hezbollah and Hamas. In doing this the Saudis' involvement is crucial because of their ability to spend large sums of money without the budgetary and political oversight faced by Washington.<ref>[2134]</ref>

King of Saudi Arabia

US Vice President Dick Cheney met with Saudi King Abdullah in Riyadh in November 2006. Following the meeeting, Saudi Arabia announced that the country is committed to maintain moderate prices for oil. This policy was seen as a measure to put Iran under pressure. <ref>[2135]</ref>

In January 2007 King Abdullah also appeared to accuse Iran of exploiting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for its own ends. "The Arabs alone should solve the issue of Palestine ... We don’t want anyone to trade in our issues and become stronger through them," he said. King Abdullah expressed concern over the increasing power of Shia groups in Iraq. He added: "We know our role as the state where the message (of Islam) began".<ref>[2136]</ref> The majority of muslims in Iraq are Shia while Iraq was ruled by Sunni minority before Saddam's fall.

Arab nuclear states as allies

While the Arab world expresses concern over Iran's nuclear program, they have boosted their own nuclear programs. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced his country would revive its own long dormant program. Two months later, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman committed to initiate a joint nuclear program on the Arabian Peninsula. In January 2007, Jordan's King Abdullah II tossed his nation's hat into the nuclear ring.<ref>[2137]</ref> Though all of these programs will have nuclear proliferation outside their borders, and all of them will be under strict, and absolute regulation by the UN and the US.

Notes

<references/>

See also

Iran-Arab relations

Anti-Iranianism

Anti-Arabism

Further reading

Henner Furtig and Anoushiravan Ehteshami. Iran's Rivalry With Saudi Arabia Between the Gulf Wars. 2006, Ithaca. ISBN-13: 978-0863723117