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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Iran
Index
The Persian Gulf States
Although the shah had been unpopular among the rulers of the
six states on the Arab side of the Persian Gulf, the Revolution in
Iran, nevertheless, was a shock to them. Iran under the shah had
been the main guarantor of political stability in the region. Under
the Republic, Iran was promising to be the primary promoter of
revolution. All six countries--Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)--were ruled by
hereditary monarchs who naturally feared the new rhetoric from
Tehran. Indeed, during the first year following the Revolution,
throughout the Gulf region numerous acts of political sabotage and
violence occurred, claiming inspiration from the Iranian example.
The most sensational of these was the assault by Muslim dissidents
on the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Other
clashes occurred between groups of local Shias and security forces
in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
The outbreak of war between Iran and Iraq further alarmed the
Persian Gulf Arab states. In 1981 they joined together in a
collective defense alliance known as the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC). Although the GCC announced its neutrality with respect to
the Iran-Iraq War, Iran perceived its formation as part of the
Iraqi war effort and generally was hostile toward it. The GCC for
its part suspected Iran of supporting antigovernment groups
throughout the Persian Gulf. These concerns were heightened in
December 1981, when authorities in Bahrain announced the discovery
of a clandestine group that had plans to carry out sabotage and
terrorist acts as part of an effort to overthrow the government;
several of the plotters had links to Iranian clerics. In December
1983, a series of bombings occurred in Kuwait, including incidents
at the American and French embassies; the Arab nationals who were
captured and charged with these acts of terrorism were members of
an Iraqi Shia movement, Ad Dawah, that was headquartered in Tehran.
In May 1985, a suicide driver unsuccessfully tried to kill the
ruler of Kuwait.
Despite GCC suspicions of Iranian involvement in subversive
activities, until 1987 more cooperation than confrontation was
found between Iran and the GCC members. In general, Iran avoided
dealing with the GCC as an entity, preferring to ignore its
existence and to treat each country separately. Iran's relations
with the six component states varied from friendliness to
hostility. For example, Iran and the UAE maintained relatively
cordial relations. The political ties between the two countries
were reinforced by economic ties. An Iranian mercantile community
in the UAE was concentrated in Dubayy, a city that
emerged--following the destruction of Khorramshahr--as an important
transit center where international goods destined for Iran were
offloaded into smaller boats capable of entering small Iranian
fishing towns that served as ports of entry despite their lack of
docking facilities. In Bahrain, where the ruling family was Sunni
Muslim and a majority of the population was Shia, lingering
suspicions of Iranian intentions did not inhibit the government
from improving diplomatic relations with Tehran. Because there were
no outstanding issues between Iran and Qatar, relations between
them were generally correct.
Iran's relations with the other three GCC members--Kuwait,
Oman, and Saudi Arabia--have been more complex and, throughout the
early and mid-1980s, have been characterized by alternating periods
of tension and mutual accommodation. For example, immediately after
the Revolution, Iranian propaganda singled out the sultan of Oman
as an example of the kind of "un-Islamic tyrant" who should be
overthrown. This hostility sprang from the revolutionaries'
perception of the Omani ruler as having been a close friend of the
shah. Iran's view had developed in the 1970s when the shah sent
military assistance, including an Iranian military contingent, to
help the sultan crush a long-term rebellion. More significant,
however, the Iranian leaders regarded the sultan as subservient to
the United States. They denounced his policies of supporting the
Camp David accords, providing facilities for American air crews who
attempted the unsuccessful rescue of the hostages in April 1980,
signing an agreement for American military use of the air base on
Masirah Island, and discussing with the United States construction
of an airfield on the Musandam Peninsula overlooking the Strait of
Hormuz. Oman generally refrained from responding to Iranian charges
and consequently avoided an escalation of the verbal barrages.
Despite the many areas of friction, tensions between Iran and Oman
gradually abated after 1981. The movement toward more correct
diplomatic relations culminated in 1987 with a state visit of the
Omani foreign minister to Iran. Iran's relations with Saudi Arabia
and Kuwait were strained because both of these countries provided
major financial support to Iraq after the Iran-Iraq War began. In
addition, Iran accused them of providing logistical assistance for
Iraqi bombing raids on Iranian oil installations. For their part,
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait believed that Iran supported subversive
activities among their Shia minorities. They also resented Iranian
attacks on their shipping. Saudi Arabia annually confronted
embarrassing incidents during the pilgrimage season when Iranians
tried to stage political demonstrations. Nevertheless, both Saudi
Arabia and Kuwait made efforts to seek a rapprochement with Iran in
1985 and 1986. The Saudi efforts were more successful and resulted
in an exchange of visits of the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers
in 1985. The Saudis and Iranians also began to cooperate in some
areas of mutual interest, such as international oil policy. In
contrast, relations between Kuwait and Iran did not improve
significantly. In the fall of 1986, Iran began to single out
Kuwait's ships for retaliatory attacks, and this led to a worsening
of diplomatic relations.
Political tensions between Tehran and Kuwait increased
significantly after the United States agreed to reflag Kuwaiti oil
tankers. Iran accused Kuwait and its neighbors, especially Saudi
Arabia, of being mere puppets of the "Great Satan." During the
pilgrimage to Mecca in the summer of 1987, Iran encouraged the
pilgrims--150,000 of whom had come from Iran--to demonstrate
against the United States and the corrupt rulers of the Gulf. More
than 400 pilgrims, including at least 300 Iranians, were killed in
a stampede in Mecca when Saudi security forces attempted to break
up a demonstration.
Data as of December 1987
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