ABU DHABI (AFP) - Iran should respect the unity of its Arab neighbours in the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates foreign minister said on Wednesday at a time of heightened regional tension. "Iran should reconsider its policies in the region," Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahayan, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Gulf Cooperation Council, told a news conference in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi. And it "should respect the unity and sovereignty of Gulf countries," he said at the end of an annual GCC-European Union ministerial meeting. "I'm trying to choose my words carefully. I don't want to act like some Iranian officials who throw their words in an abrasive and indecent way," Sheikh Abdullah said. "All I wish for is that Iran view its neighbours with responsibility and respect." Tension has been running high between Iran and its Arab neighbours across the Gulf, with the two sides locked in a war of words since Shiite-led protests against Bahrain's Sunni dynasty broke out in mid-February. A Saudi-led Gulf force including UAE police rolled into Bahrain on March 14, freeing up Bahraini security forces to crush the protest movement in the only Shiite-majority Arab state of the Gulf, in a move condemned by Iran.