Enhanced co-operation between Gulf nations is the only way to combat blatant Iranian aggression in the region, according to experts.

The political and security specialists attributed the rise in regional tensions to a key nuclear deal signed between Tehran and world powers to curb Iran’s nuclear programme, said report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

They spoke to the GDN yesterday (July 27) after Iran accused Bahrain of trying to “create a climate of tension” in the region by “making unfounded allegations” against Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham dismissed Bahrain’s detention of two men accused of trying to smuggle weapons from Iran as “baseless”.

It followed a statement by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif who claimed his country did not smuggle any weapons into Bahrain, which was strongly refuted by Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa.

Incidents of Iranian meddling in Bahrain has been apparent since unrest in 2011, with Interior Minister Lieutenant-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa earlier accusing Tehran of opening its camps to train terrorist groups.

Bahrain Institute for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (Derasat) research analyst Omar Mahmood said a united GCC was the way to tackle hostile Iranian intervention.

“The US was hoping after the nuclear deal that Iran will eventually moderate itself and come back into the international sphere as a more ‘normal’ state unlike in the past,” he said.

“The fear of the GCC was always that this should not be the case.

“The deal allows Iran an access to more than $100 billion of its frozen assets which could be used to further expand its aggressive actions in the region.”

Mahmood dismissed comments made by Ms Afkham as “normal Iranian behaviour”.

“GCC states are working to counter Iranian meddling and expansion a lot more than before,” he explained.

“We face a whole new different threat like the Islamic State bombings in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and similar threats to other GCC states.

“So the GCC has twin terror threats to tackle simultaneously, all of which requires enhanced GCC co-operation and co-ordination.

“More counter-terrorism measures to tackle incidents such as the recent weapons seizures, which could inflict damage on our countries, must be stepped up.

“The US has helped in the past, but the GCC will soon be seen taking more of an independent role in dealing with incidents that will directly affect us.  

“We need to move along further with a more unified vision in tackling these concerns.

“A single unified vision is what is needed, a stronger tie of the six-nation council is the way forward in fighting Iranian aggression in the region and the threat of terrorism.”

Dubai-based geo-strategic and political economic analyst Dr Theodore Karasik said Bahrain was being used as “a playing field” by parties that harboured discontent to the deal.

“In the wake of the Iran deal, it’s only natural that Bahrain would be the principal point of impact for those who harbour discontent to any accord between the West and Iran,” said Dr Karasik, who works for Gulf State Analytics.

“This discontent is not only at the regional level but also at the sub-national actor level.  

“There is no doubt that there are parties – who are unhappy, from Sunni to Shi’ite activists, many of them extremists, to ‘vested interests’ in the GCC and Iran – who want nothing to do with the deal.

“It seems these actors see Bahrain as a playing field in which to voice their discontent through accusations either based on reality or fiction.

“In addition, the capture of extremists and saboteurs who seek to undermine Bahrain is on the rise which is symptomatic of the rising discord.”

International Institute for Strategic Studies Middle East senior consulting fellow Toby Dodge said the nuclear deal did not attempt to restrain Iran’s conventional military power or its use of covert actors to further its goals across the Middle East.

“The deal places long-term constraints on Iran’s ability to proliferate thus greatly reducing the threat of war over the issue,” he said.

“Indeed, there is a danger that a deal with Tehran on the nuclear issue might lead to greater tensions in the Gulf region as Iran and its rivals escalate a ‘cold war’, using propaganda and covert operations to undermine each other’s societies.”

The Interior Ministry on Saturday announced it foiled a terror operation to smuggle high-grade explosives, ammunition, detonators and automatic assault rifles from Iran.

It was part of a counter-terrorism operation in which a vessel heading towards Bahrain was intercepted on July 15 by the Coastguard and two Bahraini suspects onboard were arrested. - TradeArabia News Service