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Article: Abdullah's Priorities.(King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia)
- Article from:
- APS Diplomat News Service
- Article date:
- May 7, 2007
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At heart, King Abdullah is an Arab nationalist. But, like former Lebanese PM Rafiq Hariri who as assassinated in Beirut on Feb. 14, 2005, Abdullah balances his regional priorities with the use of the strongest arguments among the most powerful of his partners at home, Prince Nayef on the one hand and Prince Salman on the other. The result is his strong conviction that the regional ambitions of the Shi'ite theocracy of Iran must be checked, while at the same time the regional responsibilities of Saudi Arabia as the leader of the Muslim world and of the Arab Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) should be upheld.
This means Riyadh must make sure Tehran's nuclear programme ...