As the international community debates the intricacies of the interim nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington, Iran’s Arab neighbours are gearing up to deal with its geopolitical consequences in the region. The summit meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Kuwait this week will try and hammer out a united response among the six member states, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Many Sunni regimes, especially Saudi Arabia, are deeply concerned that the atomic accord will empower Iran, embolden it to support Shia communities across the Gulf and destabilise Arab monarchies. Some are angry with the United States for not taking their interests into account when negotiating the nuclear agreement with Iran.

For its part, Tehran has reached out to the Gulf nations after signing the nuclear agreement with the US late last month to reassure them that Tehran has no intention of dominating the Gulf. Javad Zarif, the foreign minister of Iran, traveled to four GCC nations — Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — earlier this month. But not everyone in the Gulf is impressed with Iran’s charm offensive. Speaking at an annual security forum in Bahrain called the Manama Dialogue, a top Saudi diplomat declared that the Gulf nations “should no longer depend on others to ensure their security”. “Blind dependence on a foreign power (read America) is no longer acceptable. The GCC countries should decide their own future,” he insisted, and called on the six GCC nations to “unite under one political entity in order to face internal and external challenges”.

This is not the first time that the Saudis have called for a political union of the GCC. In 2011, amidst growing perception of the Iranian threat, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia made the bold call for Arab political unity in the Gulf. The disenchantment with America and the fear of Iran have only accentuated since.

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