UK defence relations in Persian Gulf

This file relates to Gulf co-operation, particularly defence cooperation. It contains correspondence concerning:

• A statement by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defence and Aviation on 27 December 1972 refuting reports of an alleged Gulf defence pact supported by the US
• The Iraqi military threat to Kuwait, and the idea of military cooperation in the Gulf, including talks with the Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa
• Obstacles to regional stability and to the prospects of a political union of the Gulf States, particularly the Abu Dhabi-Saudi Arabia territorial dispute and antipathy towards Iraq
• A draft Ministry of Defence white paper reviewing the future of UK defence relations policy in the UAE, and examining defence relations activity in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain; and draft sentences for the Secretary of State's speech in the House of Lord's debate
• The President of the UAE Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan's wish to revise the agreements for the loan of British personnel to the Abu Dhabi Defence Force and Union Defence Force
• Draft replies and background notes for parliamentary questions to Defence Secretary Lord Carrington [Peter Alexander Rupert Carington] by John Biggs-Davison and John Wilkinson about defence commitments in the Gulf
• Press cuttings from the Financial Times,  entitled 'Iran proposes pact with Bahrain and Gulf States', dated 10 May 1973, and the Sunday Telegraph, entitled 'Britons leaving Oman forces' dated 5 April 1973
• Military cooperation between Iran and Oman; a possible defence agreement between the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed Al Said; and rumours that the Ruler of Bahrain Sheikh Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa complained about this to a senior Muscat official
• The intention of the Ruler of Qatar Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al Thani to deal with any dangerous persons such as members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf and other movements