The secretary of state was in the Qatari capital for a day-long set of meetings with GCC representatives in a bid to calm their fears over the nuclear accord with Iran.
Advertisement
Speaking in Egypt on Sunday, Kerry said the United States had labeled Iran the world’s number-one state sponsor of terror, but this was precisely why it was so important to ensure Tehran did not obtain a nuclear weapon.
At that meeting, Obama promised Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates enhanced security cooperation and expedited defense sales to guard against a potential Iranian threat.
“Consequently, the GCC countries have welcomed on this basis what has been displayed and what has been talked about by His Excellency Mr. Kerry”, said Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiya, whose nation now chairs the group.
Many previous expressions of a need to bridge differences by leaders of Sunni Gulf Arab countries and Shia Iran have come to nothing, although the two camps have previous experience of reaching stability accords in the 1989 Taif Agreement that ended Lebanon’s civil war.
Al-Attiyah said a “firm agreement between the major players and Iran” was the best way to resolve the nuclear issue.
The United States Secretary of State John Kerry has gone out of his way to reassure the GCC states that the US continues to support their efforts against destabilisation.
Attiyah also called for a ban on all nuclear weapons not only in Iran but “all the Middle East”.
Kerry also held trilateral talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on the war in Syria. “We are consulting amongst friends to be able to find the political solution that would make the Syrian people exit from this very dire crisis that they have been living in excess of five years”, Al Attiyah added.
“And that to protect these groups this air force would be authorised to strike at any forces which may – may – be considered a hindrance to the work of this group”. In a rare meeting with the foreign ministers of the six GCC states, Kerry made an obvious criticism of Iran when he stated that the US is helping the GCC states “counter-destabilising activities taking place in the region“. Kerry’s visit was aimed in large part at reassuring the Arab allies of America’s commitment to their security following the deal, which gives Iran broad sanctions relief in exchange for guarantees it won’t build a nuclear bomb.
Advertisement
He said U.S.-Gulf Arab working groups would start meeting over the next three weeks to develop a detailed agenda for action to “raise the capacity of all of us in the region to be able to push back against destabilizing activities”.
