Dubai: The Gulf states' tense relations with Iran are expected to dominate the agenda when leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council gather in Riyadh for the annual consultative meeting today, a source told Gulf News yesterday.
"Gulf leaders will discuss the [financial] support to Bahrain and Oman," a source who declined to be named told Gulf News. "The developments in Yemen are also expected to be discussed."
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will head the UAE delegation to Riyadh.
He will be accompanied by a high-powered delegation, including Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, and other senior officials, a WAM report said.
Rising tension
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait have pledged to establish a $20 billion (Dh73.4 billion) fund to assist their fellow GCC members, Bahrain and Oman.
The summit comes at a time when GCC-Iran tensions are at a high. The uncovering of an Iranian spy ring in Kuwait and a recent statement by Iran's Chief of Armed Forces, General Hassan Firouzabadi, claiming that the Gulf ‘belonged to Iran forever' have only served to fuel the tension. Iran's vocal support for protests in Bahrain and its criticism of the Gulf troop presence there had also riled GCC officials.
Qatar's Emir Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani yesterday promised to intervene personally to resolve the crisis in Bahrain during a meeting with Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr, a report on Al Sadr's website said.
The Emir also said Qatar and Al Sadr will form a committee to find solutions for Bahrain and follow up on the situation, according to the statement.
