MATTERS OF PRIORITY

The Iranian air strikes which took place last week on two oil tankers inside the UAE's 12-mile territorial waters are the closest military actions yet to the Arab coastline of the peninsula. The development. coming as the GCC Ministerial Council meeting was in progress in Taif, served to underline once again the defence and security concerns of the six member countries, of the GCC. Shortly before the Iranian attacks occurred, Minister of Defence Prince Sultan had delivered a tough speech on Saudi Arabian sovereignty. Speaking to military officers at the King Abdul Aziz naval base at Jubail, Prince Sultan said, "We will never allow any outside force to play with our sovereignty and dignity and undermine our security and stability, whichever and whoever it might be."