Syria and Iran to dominate Arab League summit

Leaders of 22-member body – without suspended Syria – also expected to take hard line on US decision to recognise Jerusalem as capital of Israel

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has arrived at the King Abdulaziz Air Base, in Dharan, leading the UAE delegation to the 29th Arab Summit, due to start tomorrow in the Saudi city of Dammam. Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Governor of the Eastern Province, and a number of Saudi princes along with Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Arab League Secretary General, welcomed H.H. Sheikh Mohammed upon arrival. Also present were Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (L) Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (2L) Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. WAW

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has arrived at the King Abdulaziz Air Base, in Dharan, leading the UAE delegation to the 29th Arab Summit, due to start tomorrow in the Saudi city of Dammam. Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Governor of the Eastern Province, and a number of Saudi princes along with Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Arab League Secretary General, welcomed H.H. Sheikh Mohammed upon arrival. WAM

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs; H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. The UAE delegation to the 29th Arab Summit, due to start tomorrow, has arrived in the Saudi city of Dammam. WAM

The UAE delegation, including, (from right) Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy, Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and The Future, Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, UAE Ambassador to Saudi Arabia; Khalifa Saeed Sulaiman, Director General of Dubai Protocol and Hospitality Department, arrives for the 29th Arab Summit, due to start tomorrow in the Saudi city of Dammam. WAM

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has arrived at the King Abdulaziz Air Base, in Dharan, leading the UAE delegation to the 29th Arab Summit, due to start tomorrow in the Saudi city of Dammam. Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Governor of the Eastern Province, and a number of Saudi princes along with Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Arab League Secretary General, welcomed H.H. Sheikh Mohammed upon arrival. WAM

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has arrived at the King Abdulaziz Air Base, in Dharan, leading the UAE delegation to the 29th Arab Summit, due to start tomorrow in the Saudi city of Dammam. Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Governor of the Eastern Province, and a number of Saudi princes along with Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Arab League Secretary General, welcomed H.H. Sheikh Mohammed upon arrival. WAM

Arab leaders – except Syrian President Bashar Al Assad – will today meet in Saudi Arabia for a summit as world powers face off over Syria and tensions between Riyadh and Tehran rise .

Saudi Arabia is pushing for a tough, unified stance against Iran at the annual gathering of the 22-member Arab League.

The two countries support opposing sides of the war in Syria and in Saudi Arabia's southern neighbour, Yemen. They also back opposing parties in Iraq and Lebanon.

The summit begins 24 hours after the US, France and Britain launched air strikes in war-torn Syria in response to a chemical attack on the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta last week.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which both voiced support for the strikes, remain locked in a months-long diplomatic standoff. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut all ties with Doha last year over its support of extremists.

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In 2011, the Arab League suspended Syria's membership over the Al Assad government's role in the war. Syria remains suspended from the organisation. 
King Salman of Saudi Arabia will chair Sunday's summit in the eastern city of Dhahran, home to Saudi Arabia's oil giant Aramco and 160 kilometres across the Gulf from Iran.

Syria's war, the most complex of the region's conflicts, is the main point of contention pitting Riyadh and its allies against Syrian regime backer Iran and its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah.

Saudi Arabia on Saturday declared its full support for US-led air raids on Syria, which the Pentagon said had "successfully hit every target".

Gulf Arab states have made great relief donations to Syria but have not officially offered asylum to Syrians.

Despite widespread Arab condemnation of the chemical attack, suspected to have been carried out by Mr Al Assad's regime, the Dhahran summit is unlikely to call for the Syrian president to step down.

Seven years into a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of peoplelives, Saudi Arabia and Iran now agree that the country's future cannot be decided solely by the Syrian government, whose troops have regained the upper hand with military support from Russia.

Meanwhile, the question of Jerusalem is also likely to figure prominently at the summit as the US prepares to move its embassy there from Tel Aviv after declaring the disputed city the capital of Israel in a break with decades of international diplomacy.

Arab ministers at a preliminary meeting in Riyadh on Thursday focused heavily on blocking the move, unanimously condemning the decision by US President Donald Trump.