Gulf states called on Iran yesterday to fully co-operate with the UN nuclear watchdog in implementing a landmark deal with major powers.

Foreign ministers of the GCC member states also urged quick action to end the Syrian conflict and expressed hope that a peace conference planned for January will help lead to a settlement, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

In a joint statement issued after a one-day meeting in Kuwait City, the ministers called on Iran to "fully co-operate" with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors in implementing the agreement it reached with six major powers on Sunday.

"We express our comfort at this deal, hoping that it will be a prelude for a comprehensive solution to the Iranian nuclear file," the ministers said, referring to the interim nature of the deal reached at the weekend.

Under the agreement, which lasts for six months while negotiators bid for a lasting settlement, Iran undertook to curb parts of its nuclear programme in return for some relief from Western sanctions.

The deal was struck between Iran and the P5+1 - Britain, China, France, Russia and the US, plus Germany - but the job of overseeing its implementation falls largely to the IAEA in co-ordination with the group.

The Gulf ministers called for the Geneva 2 peace conference on Syria, scheduled for January 22, to be "held quickly to help reach a political settlement".

They strongly condemned the continuing "bloodshed" in Syria and the "use of internationally banned weapons against civilians."

GCC states, like many Western governments, blame forces loyal to President Bashar Al Assad for a series of gas attacks in August that prompted a UN agreement to dismantle his regime's chemical arsenal. - TradeArabia News Service