Arabs need to look beyond Iran, Al Attiyah says

Dubai: Arab governments need to look beyond Iran, to Israel, which is the "main enemy of the Arab world", the Secretary General of the GCC has said.

"Why Iran? It's not Iran. They [Arab governments] have to take responsibility on Israel, which is the main enemy of the Arab world, the main enemy of the Palestinians, [with] the daily practices taken by the Israelis against the Palestinians. Why do we go to Iran? We just say Iran. Why don't we look at the other side of the picture," Abdul Rahman Al Attiyah said on the sidelines of the Afghanistan International Investment Conference yesterday.

While not directly commenting on how the leaked WikiLeaks documents might affect relations with Iran, he said that he was "following up" and that the "US-GCC relations are old and historic and it's important to follow up on this matter".

Al Attiyah also referred journalists back to a statement he made when WikiLeaks revealed documents showing human rights abuses in Iraq.

"The US is requested to open a serious and traniparent investigation into the information contained in these documents on the commission of crimes against humanity," the Secretary General said in late October.