Kuwait worried by Saudi-Iran pact

ABU DHABI — Kuwait is said to be concerned over the meaning of Saudi Arabia's security pact with Iran.

The issue was raised during the current talks by Kuwaiti Defense Minister Jabber Mubarak Al Sabah in Riyad. Mubarak arrived in Riyad on Sunday for two days of meetings.

The Kuwaiti defense minister delivered a message from the Kuwaiti leadership to Saudi King Faisal. At the same time, a Kuwaiti envoy delivered a message from Emir Jabber Al Ahmad Al Sabah to Iranian President Mohammad Khatami. The content of the message was not disclosed, but is believed to be linked to Gulf security.

Mubarak said he would not discuss military ties between Gulf Cooperation Council states. But he would focus on bilateral relations, "everything that is of importance to our mutual interests in connection with military issues."

Kuwait has urged for the expansion of the GCC military force, which now numbers 5,000 and is planned to contain up to 22,000 soldiers. Kuwait wants the force to be ready for any attack by neighboring Iraq.

Earlier, the Baghdad-based Al Iraq daily said an Iranian missile attack last week on Iraq was meant to express Teheran's wish to dominate the region and serve the wishes of Saudia Arabia and the United States. "By its aggression, Teheran's regime was aiming to gain favor with other parties and prove that it again could become the policeman of the Gulf," the newspaper said in a front-page editorial.

In Cairo, diplomatic sources said Saudi Arabia's pact with Iran has renewed questions over whether Cairo will follow Riyad's lead. Over the weekend, the state-owned Al Ahram published an opinion piece that called for diplomatic relations between Cairo and Teheran.

"The tangible rapprochement in relations between the Saudi kingdom and Iran opens the door to several questions on the reasons of the freeze and stagnation in Egyptian-Iranian ties," Egyptian analyst Salama Ahmed Salama wrote. "All these reasons again raises the question: Why doesn't Egypt renew its ties with Iran."