How Does the Iranian Nuclear Program Affect the GCC Countries National Research Paper - 1

How Does the Iranian Nuclear Program Affect the GCC Countries National Security - Research Paper Example the United States and the United Kingdom proved that Iran had the economic strength to support its nuclear program and so the worry arose on the consequences of such an expedition on the security of the world and that of the GCC countries (Hagel & Loeb, 2014). The resistance that the whole project has faced has been as a result of the concerns that such a serious and delicate process can cause to the whole world. While the GCC countries feel that it is their right to take care of the world by controlling such a process involving nuclear power, the Iranians feel that the concerns being raised are pre-textual and malicious and aimed at preventing it from getting the nuclear power that it needs urgently (BBC News, 2014). According to Hagel & Loeb, 2014 the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has expressed its concerns over the Iranian nuclear program. The GCC countries include the Kingdom of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and The United Arab Emirates. These countries possess a significant economic interdependence both in economic, politics, culture and also in religion. Since Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are major Oil exporting hubs, they have a significant economic dependence and setting of policies that govern the oil trade. On the other, Qatar is well known for producing natural gas and since this lies in line with the oil production it serves as a uniting factor among the countries. Almost all citizens in the GCC countries are Muslims which serves as a uniting and common factor to help unite them further. The political status of the countries in the GCC umbrella is based on the Islamic religion as it is the dominant one in the region. Though Iran is not a member of the GCC, the nuclear program has been viewed as a direct threat to the GCC countries and so they have resisted it in one accord. The national security of any country involves maintaining the survival of the state through the use of its economic power and setting of foreign