Gulf Arab leaders placed top emphasis on maintaining regional security and stability during a two-day summit which wrapped up in Abu Dhabi on Monday amid rising concerns over Iran's nuclear program and the international probe of the killing of Lebanon's ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a regional alliance grouping Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, voiced concerns during its annual summit over the Iranian nuclear issue and Syria's cooperation with the United Nations in the investigation into Hariri's death.

But the Gulf Arab alliance, eager to defuse tensions and maintain regional stability, has cautiously worded its final declaration reached during the summit, avoiding provoking Iran and Syria.

Nuclear-free gulf

GCC leaders unanimously called for a Gulf region free from nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction, but refrained from singling out Iran's nuclear case in the final statement. The Gulf Arab alliance expressed "regret" over the lack of progress in talks between the group and Iran over regional stability and security, the statement said.

Meanwhile, GCC Secretary General Abdul Rahman al-Attiya said at a press conference held after the summit that the GCC was "justified" in showing concerns over Iran's nuclear program, stressing that the Iranian nuclear facilities were very close to the GCC countries.

He also voiced worries that any possible leakage of Iran's nuclear facilities might wreak havoc on GCC countries, urging Iran to establish an early-warning system and inform the bloc as soon as possible in case of such incidents.

But Yousif bin Alawi, Oman's Minister in charge of Foreign Affairs, said that the GCC did not intend to impose any pressure on Iran and that the group wanted to maintain good relations with its Shiite-dominated neighbor.

Iran's nuclear issue, in the world limelight and closely watched by Gulf Arab countries, has been a heatedly discussed topic during the GCC summit, said delegates.

The alliance has earlier urged Iran to stick to the peaceful nature of its nuclear program and tackle the issue logically with Western countries and Gulf Arab countries to avoid escalating tensions that might spill over to the Gulf area and do harm to the oil-rich region.

Delegates said the alliance, though concerned, espouses a peaceful settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.

Meanwhile, the GCC has declared that it will not mediate between the United States, which accuses Tehran of developing nuclear weapons under a civilian front, and Iran over the nuclear issue, saying Washington has not asked for GCC's mediation. Iran categorically denies Washington's charge.

Meanwhile, GCC leaders urged Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and subject its nuclear facilities to international inspection.

Officials of GCC countries have termed Israel's nuclear weapons as a threat to regional stability and security.

Widely believed to be the only nuclear power in the region, Israel has never admitted or denied that it has nuclear weapons.

Fair probe in Hariri's killing

Reviewing the latest situation in Lebanon and Syria, the Gulf Arab alliance has urged for fair investigation into Hariri's killing while expressing keenness to maintain stability and sovereignty in both neighboring countries.

The GCC denounced the killing of Hariri and a series of assassinations of anti-Syria Lebanese figures and at the same time voiced satisfaction at Syria's acceptance to cooperate with the United Nations in the probe of Hariri's death.

The alliance, however, avoided publicly urging Damascus in the final declaration to further cooperate with the UN investigation team, which implicated Syria's involvement in Hariri's killing and accused it of failing to provide full and timely cooperation. But GCC Secretary General Abdul Rahman al-Attiya told a news conference after the summit that the alliance was ready to offer assistance necessary to bring about stability and security to both Lebanon and Syria.

He added that the GCC has been contacting "senior officials" concerning Hariri's killing and other recent assassinations in Lebanon, without specifying nor giving further details. Well-informed sources said GCC countries, eager to defuse the rising tensions caused by Hariri's killing, would try to exert more efforts to urge Damascus to continue cooperating with the UN to avoid more unrest in the region already troubled by violence in Iraq.

Saudi Arabia, key member of the GCC, has played a significant role in persuading Syria to cooperate with the UN inquiry. Hariri, who was killed in a massive car bomb blast on Feb. 14, was a close ally of the Saudi royal family. The killing led to large-scale anti-Syria protests in Lebanon and eventually the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in April.

United new Iraqi gov't

GCC countries also expressed hope that the new full-term Iraqi government, to be formed after the recent Iraqi parliamentary elections, can group all key communities in Iraq and help restore stability in the violence-plagued country.

The alliance hoped that the Iraqi parliamentary elections held on Dec. 15 would help safeguard territorial integrity and stability of the country and help it run its own affairs, according to the final statement.

The Sunni-dominated GCC countries also urged the Iraqi people to resort to dialogues to reach a comprehensive national reconciliation that "constitutes the main safety valve for the unity, stability and sovereignty of Iraq."

The situation in Iraq, plagued by almost daily violence, has drawn great attention from the Sunni-dominated GCC, which are concerned about the close relations between Iraqi Shiites, dominating the interim government and expected to remain the largest bloc in the new parliament, and the Shiite-dominated Iran. The bloc was also eager to see the Sunnis, sidelined in January elections to choose an interim legislature, would be brought back to Iraq's political mainstream and a new, balanced Iraqi government so as to end violence in the country and restore regional stability.

In addition, the GCC extended support to the Palestinians in their pursuit of an independent state alongside Israel. On internal affairs of the region, the GCC decided at the summit to extend the transition period of the bloc's customs union by two years to the end of 2007 and vowed to reform education and strengthen security cooperation in the fighting against terrorism and Islamic extremism.

Founded in 1981, the GCC has been striving to achieve wide-ranging cooperation among member states in face of internal and international challenges.

(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2005)