Friends and foes in the Gulf

GCC: An intra-GCC political row is diverting attention from external economic threats facing the six energy producers

A falling out among friends can be a painful business. The six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are experiencing this right now. The side-effects of sectarian rivalry in the Middle East have infected the group and threaten to undermine its cohesion. The GCC was formed in 1981 after the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, when Gulf leaders took seriously Tehran's pledge to export the Shia revolution. Yet differences over the GCC's strategy in dealing with Iran are one of the major causes of today's row. The result: a vicious media war which sees Qatar on one side and Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain on the other. Qatar believes in maintaining cordial relations with Iran, with which i