Gulf 'states' work to secure support for nuclear sanctions against Iran

Gulf Arab states are to play a new role in the increasingly desperate race to stop Iran's nuclear programme by using their economic leverage to line up support for new tough sanctions, Arab and European officials said today.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will use the prospect of oil contracts, arms deals and work visas to persuade Russia and China - who have been resisting tougher UN sanctions - that their long-term strategic interests lie in the Gulf, not in Iran.

"China and Russia have so far not been presented with the right incentives. They have not been presented with a better substitute," said Sami al-Faraj, an adviser to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a regional body.

GCC representatives will meet at the UN today with diplomats from the six nations handling nuclear negotiations with Iran - the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China - to discuss what the role the Arab states can play ahead of a critical meeting with Iran next week. More