As Iran stirs worries, Sisi sets vision for Arab security
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi offers a plan to achieve Arab security and counter threats to the Arab region, to avoid war with Iran.
CAIRO — As tensions rise between Iran and some Arab countries in the Middle East, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is proposing a four-point security plan. He spoke about the plan recently at an urgent Arab summit convened by Saudi Arabia in Mecca to discuss Iran's alleged role in recent attacks in the region.
During his May 31 speech, Sisi outlined the plan's four requirements to address threats facing Arab countries:
- International condemnation of attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and naval attacks on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by Yemen's Houthis.
- Support for the UAE and Saudi Arabia in facing any threat to their lands, facilities or territorial waters.
- Addressing all sources of threats in the region, particularly involving the Palestinian cause.
- Confronting all foreign interventions in Arab states’ affairs.
Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia have been tense since the kingdom cut its diplomatic ties with Tehran in January 2016. Meanwhile, the UAE is considered a leading member of the Saudi-led military coalition supporting government forces in Yemen in their battle against the Houthis, who are backed by Iran.
The UAE said May 12 that four multinational commercial ships were “sabotaged” in its territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman facing Iran. On June 6, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Norway sent a report to the UN Security Council on the initial findings of a probe into the attack. It said a state actor was behind the sabotage, without naming any country.
