Arab states gloat at Iran strife, but wary of its spread

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US-allied Arab states who fear Iranian expansionism may be enjoying the violent protest over president Ahmadinejad's re-election, but there is fear that the fallout is beginning to filter through.

Thousands of iranians have clashed with police in recent weeks claiming elections that gave populist anti-Western leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term were rigged.

Arab officials broke their silence last week when the UAE's foreign minister appeared to back Tehran's claims of Western meddling, saying interference was "unacceptable".

"All countries in the region are in the same boat in believing that there is no interest for any country to be exposed to instability," Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahayan said in comments carried by Al Jazeera television.

Many of the smaller Gulf Arab states lying across the Gulf waterway have maintained close ties with the Shi'ite power, backing from Saudi and Egyptian-led attempts to ostracise Iran over backing for Arab opposition groups and Shi'ites.

Saudi media has given maximum play to Tehran's troubles, with newspapers splashing images of bloodied protesters on front pages and pan-Arab channel Al Arabiya running endless footage.

"The regime feels for the first time that there is a clear domestic threat," wrote Abdel Rahman Al Rashed, manager of Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV, in the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al Awsat.

"The worst is if it digs its heels in at home and abroad. The best is if it realises the huge difference between its slogans and people's demands and chooses reconciliation through retreating from its projects and adventures."

Saudi Arabia's rulers got their first foreign policy break earlier this month after several years of setbacks against Iran when their pro-US allies in Lebanese elections won a surprise victory against Hezbollah-led opposition group backed by Iran.

Some gloating also crept into Egypt's state media coverage.

But analysts say the unfolding events could have unpredictable outcomes for both Sunni Muslim governments, which are pillars of US political, economic and military policy in the region.

A government spokesman said Iraq would respect the result of whoever Iran wants as leader but avoided mentioning Ahmadinejad by name. This may reflect uncertainty over where events are leading.

As'ad AbuKhalil, Lebanese politics professor at California State University, said Iranian opponents of Ahmadinejad, if they come out on top, would still likely promote a nationalist agenda that Riyadh sees as a threat to its interests.

Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi was prime minister under the Islamic republic's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

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