Special to WorldTribune.com

ABU DHABI — The Gulf Cooperation Council has been dismayed over the
latest summit between Egypt and Iran.

GCC sources said several of the six member states have relayed concern
over the meeting between Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and his Iranian
counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They said they were concerned that Iran
would use its rapproachment with Egypt to undermine the stability of Gulf
Arab states.

“Egypt has been told several times that the GCC would not take kindly
to an alliance with Iran,” a source said.

The sources did not rule out that several GCC states would withhold
pledges to send billions of dollars in aid to the Morsi regime. GCC states, particularly Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have pledged nearly $20 billion to help Egypt out of its fiscal crisis.

“In this region, the message is often expressed in what you don’t do
rather in what you say,” the source said.

The sources said the United Arab Emirates was most angered by the
Egyptian-Iranian summit. As Ahmadinejad arrived in Egypt, the UAE protested a visit by Iranian legislators to three Gulf islands captured by Teheran in 1971.

“This marked a flagrant violation of the UAE sovereignty,” a government statement said.

The Morsi regime has sought to assuage GCC dismay over the Iranian
summit. Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr said Ahmadinejad’s
visit, the first by an Iranian president since 1979, would not mar Cairo’s
alliance with Gulf Arab states.

“The security of Gulf countries is a red line for Egypt,” Amr said on
Feb. 5. “Egypt’s relations with any country, particularly Gulf nations, will
not be made at the expense of their security.”

  Gulf Cooperation Council, Gulf states express anger over Egypt-Iran summit, Kamel Amr, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mohammed Morsi