Impact of Cooperation Agreements between NATO and Persian Gulf States on National Security of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Cooperation between North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Persian Gulf littoral countries [members of (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council] actually started at NATO Summit in 2004. During the Summit, participants adopted document of Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) in which the Persian Gulf states had been called on to enter into security and military cooperation with NATO. Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates have thus far responded positive to that call and have signed agreements with NATO for security cooperation or exchange of military and security information. Security cooperation between NATO and the Persian Gulf states, which follows an initiative for the establishment of peace and dialogue in the Mediterranean, seems to be aimed at stabilizing the neighborhood of NATO and adjacent regions. NATO pursues four goals through the cooperation: 1. to face new threats; 2. to prevent weakening of nuclear nonproliferation regime; 3. to help forge a regional participatory security model; and 4. to ensure security of energy resources and transmission lines. Therefore, presence of NATO in the southern part of the Persian Gulf and signing security and intelligence agreements with those countries can have negative consequences for the Islamic Republic of Iran and the necessity of adopting a foreign policy which would turn this potential threat into an opportunity is felt more than before.