THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Gulf emirate whose stability is vital to Western interests has been plunged into a political crisis following the death of one of the world's longest-serving monarchs.
Ras al-Khaimah is a strategic western ally that sits on the Straits of Hormuz, the world's most important seaway, and is just 60 miles across the water from Iran. Sheikh Khalid al-Qasimi, the elder son of the late ruler, Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed al-Qasimi, was on Wednesday night holed up in his palace, claiming to be the rightful successor, while troops were marshalled outside to enforce the claim of his younger brother, the Crown Prince Sheikh Saud.
Sheikh Khalid accuses Sheikh Saud, who deposed him as Crown Prince and de facto ruler in 2003, of allowing the emirate to be used as a route to smuggle banned goods, including nuclear technology, into Iran, and is appealing to his family to put him in charge.
But the federal authorities of the United Arab Emirates, of which Ras al-Khaimah is part, immediately pledged their "full support" to Sheikh Saud yesterday morning. Within hours, Sheikh Khalid's palace was surrounded by military vehicles.
Were it not for its closeness to Iran, the long struggle for power between the two brothers would seem like something from the writings of Lawrence of Arabia rather than a means of organising government in a fast-modernising nation. But 20 per cent of the world's oil supplies pass through the Straits of Hormuz and the monarch's death comes as Iran is stepping up its influence across the Middle East. >>> Richard Spencer in Dubai | Wednesday, October 27, 2010
