Middle East Responds to Iran's Nuclear Deal

• 07.16.2015, 09:18
•  Near East,  World

The world continues discussing the Iranian nuclear deal, reached yesterday, on July 14. The Middle Eastern neighbors of Iran have also expressed their opinion on the deal, trying to understand whether the deal would benefit or just the opposite, become a threat to regional security.

The ally of Iran, Syria was among those that responded to the deal. Bashar Assad from the name of the Syrian people congratulated the authorities of Iran on reaching a nuclear deal calling it a historical one. As the Syrian SANA agency informs, Assad stressed that "the final agreement is a real turning point in the history of Iran and in its relations with the countries of the region."

Sunni Saudi Arabia, Iran’s neighbor in the Persian Gulf, has not officially responded yet, but a Saudi official, preferring to keep anonymity, told CNN that the deal is "a historic miscalculation." He also stressed that this agreement will further deepen the instability in the region. It should be mentioned that Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said that Iran's nuclear program could lead to all countries in the region wanting to develop a nuclear program. From this perspective, analysts are concerned that Saudi Arabia might step towards acquiring nuclear weapons.

Unlike Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates welcomed the agreement. UAE has repeatedly expressed concern on Iran's regional ambitions, although relations between these countries have improved dramatically after Hassan Rouhani’s coming to power. United Arab Emirates expressed hope that this agreement will open a new page in relations with Middle Eastern countries.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry called the agreement an important development, which could lead to regional stability and to prevent arms race, the Associated Press reports. It should be mentioned that after 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and after the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty was signed, Iran and Egypt does not have full diplomatic relations.

As Al-Jazeera informs, Iran's main trading partner - Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the nuclear agreement will contribute to regional economic development. He also urged Tehran to reconsider its policy on Syria and Yemen."We must abandon the construction of religious-based politics and solve these problems through political dialogue. This is what we expect from brotherly Iran," Ymet quoted Turkey's Foreign Minister.

In his turn, the Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim Al-Jaafari expressed support for the deal by calling Iran to "keep the doors of dialogue open."