Conservative Arab lands favoring Iraq in Gulf war

Conservative Arab regimes are cautiously edging away from neutrality in the Persian Gulf war, Monitor correspondent John Yemma reports.

On Feb. 7, the foreign ministers of the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council issued a communique criticizing Iran and generally supporting Iraq. The communique, prompted by evidence of Iranian involvement in a coup attempt in Bahrain in December, said council members were ''determined to resist subversive actions carried out by Iran with the aim of undermining security and sta- bility.''

The members (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) said Iraq was seeking a ''just solution'' to the 17-month-old war. Western diplomats acknowledge a growing polarization in the Middle East. Conservative Arab states appear to be lining up behind Iraq, further isolating the more radical states such as Syria.