U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry boards his plane to leave Zurich, Switzerland en route to Saudi Arabia after attending the World Economic Forum, January 22, 2016.
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Speaking after meeting in Riyadh with foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council who have sided with Saudi Arabia in its spat with Iran and who back the rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key Iranian ally, Kerry and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir presented a united front.
Saudi Arabia and some of its allies cut diplomatic ties this month with Iran after protesters there burned Riyadh’s embassy in Tehran and a consulate in the second city of Mashhad. All were convicted of “terrorism”.
“The United States will stand with them against any external threat and defend if necessary together with them against those threats”, Kerry (pictured left) said at a press conference held alongside Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubair.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Saudi King…
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbours perceive a lack of United States engagement in the region, particularly in the face of what they see as Iran’s “interference” in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere.
Kerry delivered the remarks to U.S. Embassy employees a day after meeting with Saudi and other Gulf officials on a visit aimed at reassuring U.S. allies who are skeptical about the agreement.
“Now we have the ability to begin to work together to address the concerns that Saudi Arabia and other countries have and that we have”, he said. China, France and Pakistan have all sought a de-escalation.
The Islamic republic’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday, January 30, condemned the attack.
“I won’t announce a date, but we all agreed that immediately after completion of the first round of the Syria discussions, the International Syria Support Group will convene, and that will be very shortly, because we want to keep the process moving”, he said.
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“We have as solid a relationship, as clear an alliance and as strong a friendship with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia as we have ever had, and nothing has changed because we worked to eliminate a nuclear weapon with a country in the region”, he said, referring to the Iran nuclear deal.
