Leaders of wealthy Gulf Arab states Monday gathered in Riyadh for the opening of their annual summit, against a backdrop of regional turmoil and growing fears of Iran .

Rulers of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council were in the Saudi capital except for Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan of the United Arab Emirates , who will be represented by his deputy Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum.

The summit comes as the embattled regime of Syria, rocked by a nine-month uprising the U.N. estimates has killed at least 5,000 people, agreed to an Arab League proposal to send observers to the country.

In addition to Syria , the Gulf leaders will discuss the situation in Tunisia , Egypt and Libya , where popular uprisings have already unseated entrenched dictators this year.

Gulf Cooperation Council member Bahrain was also hit by a month of protests that it crushed in March, while demonstrators in neighboring Yemen forced long-time President Ali Abdullah Saleh to sign a power transfer deal.

In Kuwait , the cabinet resigned last month over allegations of corruption and a new government was sworn in on Wednesday with only minor changes to the previous government.

They are also expected to discuss their fears of the growing influence of arch-foe Iran after the U.S. pullout from Iraq .

Their relations with the Shiite-dominated Islamic republic have soured following the unrest in Bahrain and Syria and an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Riyadh 's ambassador in Washington .

The GCC--comprising Saudi Arabia , Qatar , Kuwait , Bahrain , Oman and the United Arab Emirates --was formed in 1981 as a security alliance to counter post-revolution Iran .
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