The GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Bin Hamad al-Attiyah announced the initiative to declare the Gulf a WMDFZ. In its initial stages, the agreement would only include the eight states situated around the Persian Gulf region, as well as Yemen. Once established, the regime would eventually be open for other states in the region to join. In that way, “the GWMDFZ would not undermine but rather compliment the initiative of establishing a WMDFZ in the Middle East.” In his remarks, Al-Attiyah also mentioned security concerns regarding the Iranian reactor in Bushehr.

Photo credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) meets with Abdul-Rahman Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. March 29, 2007