CONTEXT:

• Saudi Arabia’s King Salman opened an emergency summit of Gulf Arab leaders in Mecca with a call for the international community to use all means to confront Iran. But,  the kingdom extends its hand for peace.
• King Salman was speaking at the first of three high-level summits in Mecca that were urgently convened after a spike in tensions between Saudi Arabia and its rival Iran.
• The alleged sabotage of four oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and a drone attack on a key Saudi oil pipeline earlier this month requires serious efforts to protect the security and the gains of the six energy-rich Arab nations.
• Iran denies being involved in the attacks. Attending GCC summit were the leaders of Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as senior officials from the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar.
• The meeting will be immediately followed with an emergency summit of the 22-nation Arab League, minus Syria whose membership remains suspended.
• Another summit is expected 31^st may, focusing largely on Palestinian statehood and independence. It will bring together leaders from the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which is headquartered in Saudi Arabia.