SHARM EL SHEIKH: A two-day Arab summit ended on Sunday with a vow to defeat Iranian-backed Shia rebels in Yemen and the formal unveiling of plans to form a joint Arab intervention force, setting the stage for a potentially dangerous clash between US-allied Arab states and Tehran over influence in the region.

Arab leaders, taking turns to address the gathering, spoke repeatedly of the threat posed to the region’s Arab identity by what they called moves by “foreign” or “outside parties” to stoke sectarian, ethnic or religious rivalries in Arab states — all thinly-veiled references to Iran, which has in recent years consolidated its hold in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and now Yemen.

The summit’s final communique made similarly vague references, but the Arab League chief, Nabil Elaraby, was unequivocal during a news conference later, singling out Iran for what he said was its intervention “in many nations”.

A summit resolution said the newly unveiled joint Arab defence force would be deployed at the request of any Arab nation facing a national security threat and that it would also be used to combat terrorist groups. The agreement came as US and other Western diplomats were pushing to meet a Tuesday deadline to reach a deal with Iran that would restrict its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sissi said the leaders from 22 nations also agreed to create a joint Arab military force whose structure and operational mechanism will be worked out by a high-level panel under the supervision of Arab chiefs of staff.

Elaraby, the Arab League head, said the chiefs of staff would meet within a month and would have an additional three months to work out the details before presenting their proposal to a meeting of the Arab League’s Joint Defence Council. Preparations for the force will be under the auspices of Kuwait, Egypt and Morocco _ the former, present and next chairs of the Arab League.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2015

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