à-vis the Iranian nuclear issue, he said the GCC states believe that the Middle East region should be free from all weapons of mass-destruction. He added that the GCC states recognize the right of the countries of the region to acquiring the required expertise in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Sheikh Al-Khalifa pointed out that the Gulf countries do oppose resorting to the military option for resolving the Iranian nuclear issue because they believe that Iran is an important Islamic neighboring country. He noted that stability and security in the Gulf region is a matter of concern to all countries of the region including Iran. "However,Iran may play a positive role in this respect." --MORE
