Gulf residents 'would consider' leaving if war erupts

TOUGH TALKING: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Growing US and Iran tensions are forcing people in the Gulf to consider leaving the region. (Getty Images)

Growing US and Iran tensions are forcing people in the Gulf to consider leaving the region, according to an Arabian Business poll.

The US Navy is currently carrying out an exercise in the Gulf and speculation about a possible attack on Iran because of its nuclear programme has risen since a report last month said Israel had practised such a strike.

The possibility of conflict has left many people in the Gulf feeling unsettled, with more than 60 percent of those who responded to our survey saying they would consider leaving if war broke out between the US and Iran.

Of this figure, more than half admitted that the prospect of war was "very frightening" and would force them to move from the region.

Another 30 percent of respondents said they would consider leaving but only if the area in which they lived was badly affected.

However, 31 percent said they would stay put as they didn't think any US-Iran conflict would have any impact on life in the Gulf states.

Just seven percent of people said the prospect of receiving 'danger money' from their employers would encourage them to stay in the Gulf if war broke out.

Western powers say they fear Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian nuclear programme. Tehran says the work aims to generate electricity.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday his country would not stop enriching uranium and rejected as "illegitimate" a demand by major powers that it do so.

Fear of an escalation in the standoff between the West and Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, has also helped propel oil prices to more than $140 a barrel.

The latest tensions come three months after a cargo ship hired by the US military fired warning shots at two unidentified boats which approached it in the Gulf.

Back in January, the United States said five small Iranian speedboats aggressively approached three US Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and a radio message was transmitted, warning they could explode.

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USER COMMENTS (1 COMMENTS)

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Very easy
Posted by Amer on 8 July 2008 at 20:24 UAE time

Ask those people who have put ALL SWEAT, BLOOD, ENTIRE LIFE SAVINGS into UAE about how terrible the word WAR is.

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