ABSTRACT
After an interval of some years, the political situation in the region surrounding the Gulf, including in this region Iran and Iraq, as well as the Arabian Peninsula, appears once again to be entering a period of considerable uncertainty. The two most evident aspects of this new situation are the revolution in Iran and the break between Egypt and the majority of Arab states in the Gulf after Camp David; but, even within the realm of politics, there are other developments of a more local character which both interrelate with these regional developments and spring from causes specific to the countries in question. For Iraq, the Iranian revolution has reopened its eastern flank, creating the possibility of conflict with Iran itself, not only from possible Iranian involvement with the Iraqi Kurds and Iraq's Shia population, but also from the temptation for Iraq to give support to the Iranian Arabs.
