Kuwait Times

Published Date: February 14, 2007

KUWAIT/TEHRAN:  Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah said yesterday Iran was a major regional power and had a part to play in the stability of the entire area. He also said that Tehran was genuinely seeking to achieve peace and political stability in Iraq. Sheikh Mohammad, who made the remarks after meeting with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki, told reporters he had called for more stability in Iraq and said any sectarian unrest there could "open the gates of hell for the region as a whole."

Meanwhile, Kuwait's national security chief has warned a sectarian conflict gripping neighbouring Iraq could spread to the entire region, a newspaper said yesterday. The resurgence of Iraq's majority Shiites since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the rising sectarian strife there and the growing influence of Shiite Iran has unnerved many Sunni Arab states, many of them with significant Shiite minorities. "The terrifying situation in the region now is the rising sectarian issue, we are very concerned that ... its burning flames will reach everybody," Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahd Al-Sabah told the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
In Tehran, Sheikh Mohammad urged Iran to help quell the unrest, which constituted a threat not only to the Iranians but other countries around Iraq as well. "We understand the role being played by Iran, which is a significant power in the region. And because of that, Iran should shoulder its responsibility and help out in achieving the region's political stability," Sheikh Mohammad said. On US allegations of Iranian involvement in the Iraqi unrest, Sheikh Mohammad said this was a matter to be raised with the US administration, "But I know for sure that Iran is genuinely seeking to restore law and order in Iraq," he said.
On the Iranian nuclear issue, he said that "any decision by the international community to resort to chapter seven of the UN Charter against Iran would be a source of concern to Kuwait." He added that Kuwait welcomed the proposed regional summit to be held in Tehran for the sake of preserving the political stability of the entire region. He lauded the recent Iranian initiative in restoring calm in Lebanon with help from Saudi Arabia.
 
Sheikh Mohammad later met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, with whom he discussed the demarcation of maritime borders and bilateral cooperation, before departing for Kuwait. He said that he also discussed with Ahmadinejad the importance of averting more chaos and unrest in Iraq, saying this necessitates more coordination to be made by the neighbouring states. He added that they discussed the importance of respecting the UN Security Council resolutions.
Sheikh Mohammad asserted the importance that Iran should not be perceived as a "state that is defiant to the world community" and that Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should be constructive. Sheikh Mohammad, who arrived here last night, said that he also met with Ali Velayati, International Affairs Adviser to the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and delivered a letter from HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. He described the meeting as "very constructive".

Sheikh Mohammad told reporters upon arrival that he discussed with the senior Iranian officials demarcation of maritime borders, formation of joint economic committees and import of Iranian gas and water. He described the meeting of the joint Iranian-Kuwaiti committee as "constructive in general", adding that the technical aspects of the meeting would be completed after the prospective visit of an Iranian delegation to Kuwait to discuss the legal aspects pertaining to the international law on maritime borders between the two countries. Asked about the import of gas from Iran, Sheikh Mohammad said "we hope to see a prompt response from Iran concerning the Kuwaiti proposal."

"We fear three issues in Iraq: that it would be divided...  secondly we are worried that it would descend into a civil war and third we are very concerned about the sectarian fighting," said Sheikh Ahmad. Violence in Iraq stems from sources including attacks by insurgents from the minority Sunni community, by militias from the majority Shiites and by criminals. Washington accuses Tehran of arming Shiite militias in Iraq and also developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies both charges.

Mainly Sunni Muslim Gulf Arab countries are concerned about Iran's nuclear ambitions and the creeping influence of the regional Shiite power, particularly through its backing for groups in Iraq and Lebanon's Hezbollah. "We are keen that Iran ... explains to it neighbours the safety measures for such a sophisticated technology because people are still suffering and terrified from the memory of (Chernobyl)," he said, referring to the 1986 disaster at the nuclear plant in what was then the Soviet Union.

"We cannot prevent them (Iran) from obtaining a nuclear programme for peaceful use - it is the right of all nations - but we are worried that this ambition will exceed the limits allowed by international law." Iran, located across the Gulf from Kuwait and other Gulf Arab states, is facing UN sanctions for refusing to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can make fuel for power stations or, if further enriched, material for warheads. - Agencies