AL JAZEERA: President Barack Obama has opened a summit in
the US with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab allies, seeking to convince them of US commitment to
their security despite deep concern among Arab
leaders about US efforts to broker a nuclear deal
with Iran.
Hosting the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) for a rare summit on Thursday at the Camp
David presidential retreat, Obama faced the
challenge of allaying their fears of US
disengagement at a time of Middle East upheaval
while also pressing the Gulf states to work together in their own defence.
The GCC is comprised of Saudi Arabia, the United
Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
In a media briefing, Ben Rhodes, US deputy
national security adviser for strategic
communication, said the leaders discussed the
threat to the GCC from Iran, as well as the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, besides
ongoing regional conflicts in the region, including Syria, Yemen and Libya.
“The president and his team were able to provide
an update on the status of the nuclear negotiations
… and also Iran’s destabilising actions in the
region, which touch upon the security of our GCC
partners,” Rhodes said. He said the US had set out a range of strategies to
help the GCC countries deal with Iran.
“We’re looking at what we can do to expedite the
provision of support and capacity-building to the
GCC in relation to ballistic missiles, maritime
security, special operations, counterterrorism and
border security,” Rhodes said. He said Obama had assured the GCC states that the
nuclear agreement reached in Lausanne,
Swizerland, was limited to Iran’s nuclear
programme only and not other issues.
Gulf Arab frustration Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
pulled out early, sending Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Nayef and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman in his place.
The decision was widely interpreted as a snub that
reflected the GCC’s frustration with the Obama
administration.
The White House has said such decisions were not
intended as slights and has portrayed the summit
as more than just a symbolic event.
But US officials have also played down the
prospects for any major breakthroughs. White House officials have said there would no
formal defence treaty, as some GCC leaders sought,
and that the summit is likely to produce more
modest announcements on integrating ballistic-
missile defence systems, easing weapons
deliveries and increasing joint military exercises.
In an interview to Al Jazeera’s Patty Culhane on
Wednesday, Rhodes said the US was committed to
the defence of the GCC countries but a formal treaty
would not happen in the near future.
“A treaty is not what we’re looking for. It took
decades to build NATO and the Asian allies but we
can provide clear assurances that we will come to
their defence,” he said, alluding to a prospective
alliance with the GCC members.
Sunni Arab leaders are concerned that lifting
Western sanctions as part of a nuclear deal with
Shia Iran would empower Iran to act in further
destabilising the region, especially in volatile
countries such as Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
The Obama administration would like GCC support,
or at least a toning-down of any criticism, for the
deal to help convince a sceptical US Congress it has
broad backing in the region. Adding weight to Arab concerns, Iran’s
Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy fired warning
shots over a Singapore-flagged cargo vessel in
international waters in the Gulf on Thursday.
The shots prompted the vessel to flee into the
UAE’s territorial waters, according to US officials. Rhodes said the incident highlighted “exactly”
why Gulf Arab states were concerned about Iran’s
behaviour.
