"The next crisis, predicted to cover mainly the Persian Gulf, is the crisis of legitimacy of the monarchies and traditional systems, which considering current circumstances cannot survive," Mohammadi, responsible for the ministry's research department, said.
"Such suspicious comments do not at all help build trust among states of the region," GCC secretary-general Abdul Rahman Al Attiyah said on Aug. 7. "They can only stoke conflicts and drag the region into a cycle of dangerous crises."
In 2007, a senior pro-regime Iranian cleric asserted that Bahrain was part of Iran. Bahrain, rocked by rising unrest over the last two years, contains a Shi'ite majority.
Al Attiyah warned that GCC members would resist any Iranian attack in the Gulf. He did not elaborate.
"Those who believe that the current circumstances enable them to expand and exercise control at the expense of the interests of others are mistaken," Al Attiyah said.
