Scepticism over Iran deal

Scepticism remained high after an interim nuclear deal was reached with Iran yesterday.

In the US, Republican and Democratic senators voiced concern about an interim nuclear deal while Arab states remained silent.

Tehran's only two Arab friends - Iraq and Syria - welcomed the accord. But others kept their views and opinions to themselves.

All Arab countries, apart from Syria and Iraq, are ruled by Sunni Muslims, who mainly regard Shi'ite Iran as a foe and have been deeply uneasy over the prospect of any rapprochement with the West that would benefit Tehran.

Arab leaders are concerned that the deal, under which Iran is being given relief from sanctions in return for curbs to its nuclear programme, signals a thaw in the 30 years of hostility between Tehran and Washington.

"I'm afraid Iran will give up something on [its nuclear programme] to get something else from the big powers in terms of regional politics. And I'm worrying about giving Iran more space or a freer hand in the region," said Abdullah al-Askar, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Saudi Arabia's appointed Shoura Council.

"The government of Iran has, month after month, proven that it has an ugly agenda in the region, and in this regard no one in the region will sleep and assume things are going smoothly," Askar said.

At the time he spoke, Saudi Arabia had yet to give any official response, and Askar stressed that he was giving his personal views.

Other Sunni-ruled Arab states also had yet to respond yesterday.

On Saturday night, in the hours before the deal was sealed, Gulf Arab leaders, including Saudi King Abdullah and the rulers of Qatar and Kuwait, met to discuss "issues of interest to the three nations".

The Gulf Arab rulers oppose Iran on countless fronts across the region, including Syria, where they fund and armed rebels fighting against Iran's friend, President Bashar al-Assad.

They accuse Tehran of fomenting unrest in a range of countries, including Yemen, Bahrain, Lebanon and Iraq but Iran denies such meddling.

"The people of the region know Iranian policies and Iranian ambitions. And they know that Iran will interfere in the politics of many countries in the region," Askar added.

By contrast, Iraq, which has a Shi'ite-led government and is the only Arab state openly friendly with both the US and Iran, was quick to praise the agreement.

"The reaching of a deal between Iran and the six international powers is seen as a major step for the region's security and stability levels," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said.

"Iraq ... expresses its full support for this step and its readiness to back it so as to ensure the completion of the remaining phases and to promote a climate of dialogue and peaceful solutions," he said.

The Syrian government of Assad, a long-term ally of Iran, was also pleased.

"Syria feels that reaching such an agreement is a sign that political solutions to crises in the region are the best path for securing peace and stability," a ministry official was cited as saying by state news agency Sana.

Saudi Arabia and other Sunni-ruled countries have expressed unease in recent months over what they see as a recalibration of American policy, especially since Washington abandoned plans in September to strike Syria to punish it for a chemical weapons attack on a Damascus suburb.

Syria agreed to give up its chemical arms to avert the US strikes.