UAE: Iran Must Reconsider Regional Policies, Respect Gulf States Unity

Iran should reconsider its policies in the region and respect the unity of Gulf countries, the UAE foreign minister said Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, amid heightened regional tension.

"Iran should reconsider its policies in the region," Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Gulf Cooperation Council, told a news conference after an annual GCC and European Union ministerial meeting.

And it "should respect the unity and sovereignty of Gulf countries," Sheikh Abdullah said.

His remarks come amid heightened regional tensions between Iran and its Arab neighbors across the Gulf, with the two sides locked in a war of words that began during Shiite-led protests against Bahrain's Sunni dynasty.

A Saudi-led Gulf force entered Bahrain on March 14, freeing up Bahraini security forces to crush the protest movement in the only Shiite-majority Gulf Arab state -- a move criticized by Iran.

On Monday, Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said the Gulf troops had entered the country "to deter an external threat," a reference to Iran.

"We have never seen a sustained campaign from Iran on Bahrain and the Gulf like we've seen in the past two months. Usually it's a short-lived one and then back off; this time is something different," he said.

"We wrote a letter to the secretary general of the United Nations, and in that letter we have a full attachment of the threats and of all the evidence we have against Iran and Hizbullah."

And on Wednesday, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah confirmed that Iranian diplomats accused of spying have been expelled, in part of another ongoing Iran-Gulf Arab spat.

"We kicked them out," Sheikh Mohammed told reporters in Abu Dhabi when asked about Iranian diplomats Kuwait had said it would expel.

He did not provide details on them.

Iranian state television had previously said three of Tehran's diplomats and an embassy employee were expelled from Kuwait, but Sheikh Mohammed's remark on Wednesday was the first official confirmation from the Kuwaiti side.

Sheikh Mohammed had said on March 31 that Iranian diplomats were to be expelled for alleged links to a spy ring working for Tehran, reportedly ever since the invasion of Iraq.

The foreign minister charged that the diplomats had proven links to a suspected spy ring, three alleged members of which a Kuwaiti court condemned to death on March 29, while two others were jailed for life, and two were acquitted.

Iran and its Arab neighbors have a history of frosty relations, and even disagree over the name of the body of water which they border, with Iran calling it the "Persian Gulf," while Arab states say "Arabian Gulf."