Although Middle Eastern governments, especially those in the Persian Gulf region, express increasing concern over Iran’s nuclear program, it appears that many Arab citizens of the Middle East are more supportive of Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

In late January 2006, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal urged Iran to rethink its plans to enrich uranium and asked Iran to “remember the Chernobyl reactor.” [1] Two weeks later, the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Turki Al-Faisal, also criticized Iran’s uranium enrichment program during a speech in Washington, DC. Al-Faisal, highlighting that the enriched uranium fuel could be used for nuclear weapons, posed the question: “where is Iran going to use these weapons? If their intention is to bomb Israel, they will kill Palestinians, Syrians, Jordanians and Saudis, as well.” [2]

Similarly, in January, Abdul-Rahman Al-Atiyah, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), stated that even a peaceful nuclear energy program in Iran could have repercussions for the Persian Gulf, since the large nuclear power plant that Iran is constructing at Bushehr with Russian assistance is physically closer to some Arab Gulf states, such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, than to Tehran itself. [3] In November 2005, the GCC for the first time openly declared its discomfort with Iran’s nuclear ambitions, when al-Atiyah stated that “Iran’s nuclear program has become worrisome for the region and a fundamental concern for all the countries of the world.” [4]

Reflecting these concerns, on February 4, Egypt and Yemen voted at a special meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors to forward the matter of Iran’s noncompliance with its IAEA inspection obligations to the UN Security Council. Both joined the IAEA Board through a normal rotation in September 2005. (Algeria abstained at the February vote, and Syria, also newly added to the Board, voted to oppose sending the measure to the Security Council. See related story in this issue of WMD Insights.)

Similar views were also evident in a wide range of Arab media outlets, which echoed these growing concerns. During the month of January and early February 2006, multiple Arabic newspapers published articles outlining Arab perceptions of the threat posed by the Iranian nuclear program. For example, one commentary from the London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awsat described the rise of a “Nuclear Powered Persian Empire” being built by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. [5] Additional concerns were voiced in the Egyptian al-Ahram, the Saudi al-Riyad, and a broadcast on the Saudi satellite TV channel al-Ikhbariyah. Journalists and Arab security experts argued through these outlets that Iran’s nuclear program could have a destabilizing effect on the Arab world by increasing the likelihood of military conflict in the region or by motivating Arab governments to develop or purchase a comparable nuclear capability as a deterrent. [6]

Despite the anxiety expressed by Arab government and media sources, Arab citizens appear more sympathetic to Iran’s nuclear aspirations. In an informal Internet poll presented in the London based al-Quds newspaper, 85 percent of 13,214 people surveyed said that they agreed with Iran’s stance to continue its nuclear activities. [7] Views such as these were also recently expressed on the popular al-Jazeera television channel. [8]


While professional public opinion polling would be needed to confirm the apparent divergence in official and popular views, the information at hand suggests such a split may be unfolding. Officials believe that the nuclear program will bring further conflict and instability to the region, while many Arab citizens seem to view the situation through a different prism, apparently believing that Iran’s nuclear program will provide a counterbalance to Israel’s nuclear capabilities, and, possibly, to perceived American unilateralism in the region. The issue will bear monitoring in coming months as new data emerges on this subject.

Sammy Salama – Monterey Institute Center for Nonproliferation Studies