NATO courts Saudis in bid to curb Iran threat

NATO appealed to Saudi Arabia yesterday to consider entering a cooperation agreement with the Western alliance, citing shared interest in stopping weapons proliferation in an apparent reference to Iran.

“NATO would very much value the participation of Saudi Arabia,” NATO Deputy Secretary-General Alessandro Minuto Rizzo said at a meeting with Gulf Arab states in Riyadh.

He was referring to the Istanbul Initiative of 2004, when the 26-nation alliance launched a drive to establish closer links with Middle East and North African countries. The initiative received a cool response after the US-led invasion of Iraq.

But US allies in the Arab world are now worried about the influence of Shi’ite Iran in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.

The US accuses Tehran of seeking to set up a nuclear weapons programme — a claim denied by Iran — a fear shared by Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter and key US ally.

Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have joined the initiative.

Saudi Arabia, which is boosting its military to counter a perceived threat from Iran, fears what NATO would want in return.