No one benefits as region feels the chill of a new Arab-Iranian cold war

Iran’s relations with its Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) neighbours have entered a dangerous new phase in the febrile world of Arab politics that has followed the upsurge in popular protest and toppling of North African regimes. Amid claims of bellicose meddling in domestic affairs, it would not be over-dramatic to talk about the emergence of a new Arab-Iranian cold war, reflected in actions such as Kuwait’s 31 March announcement that it would expel an unspecified number of Iranian diplomats for alleged spying and the mid-March attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad.