Hand-in-hand against Iran

Manama : Highlighting the repeated Iranian threats to the region,  British Prime Minister Theresa May underlined the importance of British-GCC cooperation to “push back Iran’s aggressiveness”.

“We must work together to push back Iran’s aggressive regional actions, whether in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Syria or in the Gulf itself,” she said in her speech at the 37th GCC Summit held here yesterday. She also stressed the importance of the Iran nuclear deal, but said the UK remained “clear-eyed” about the country’s threat to the stability of the Middle East.

“The UK is fully committed to our strategic partnership with the Gulf and working with you to counter that threat. We secured a deal which has neutralised the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons for over a decade.” 

“It has already seen Iran removing 13 thousand centrifuges together with associated infrastructure and eliminate its stock of 20 per cent enriched uranium,” May said while affirming that the Iran deal was vitally important for regional security.

Speaking about the general security and stability in the Middle East, May also spoke about the situations in Syria, Yemen and the Israeli-Palestinian matter. 

The Prime Minister also noted to the increasing cyber threats and the necessity of more coordination to curb them. 

May’s visit to the Kingdom is the first to the region since she took the post of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom last July.