P. Periakaruppan - Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, India

After the Second World War, the world became divided into two blocs,one headed by the USA and the other by the USSR. This division was deological, political, economic and militarily. The resulting tensions and competition spread to all continents, as each super-power tried to secure its dominance and counter the influence of the other. As a result, the world was constantly poised on the threshold of a third world war. The possession of nuclear weapons by both the superpowers forced them to enter into a ‘Cold War’. One of the main features of the Cold War was that attention was diverted away from Europe towards Asia by two superpowers, particularly towards the Persian Gulf region because of its strategic, economic and geopolitical significance.