WASHINGTON // US president Barack Obama and GCC leaders on Thursday tried to work through tensions sparked by the White House’s efforts to reach a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions.
In a meeting that was set to end early on Friday morning, Mr Obama was expected to reassure the Arabian Gulf leaders gathered at Camp David that US overtures to Iran would not be at the expense of Washington’s commitments to their security.
He was also expected to offer them more military assistance, including increased joint exercises and coordination on ballistic missile systems.
However, it was thought unlikely that Mr Obama would be able to fully assuage the GCC leaders’ deep-seated concerns about Iranian meddling in the region.
“My guess is that the summit is going to leave everybody feeling a little bit unsatisfied,” said Jon Alterman, the Middle East director at the centre for strategic and international studies.
Mr Obama and the leaders from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain opened their talks with a private dinner on Wednesday night at the White House.
Just two heads of state were among those meeting Mr Obama, with other nations sending lower level, but still highly influential representatives.
The most notable absence was Saudi Arabia’s King Salman. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced that the king was skipping the summit, just two days after the White House said he was coming.
Crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef and deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman were representing Saudi Arabia instead. They held a separate meeting with Mr Obama before the other leaders arrived.
The president made no mention of Saudi Arabian scepticism of the Iran talks as he opened the meeting, but acknowledged that the region is in the midst of a “very challenging time.”
“There have been disagreements under this administration and under the previous administration about certain policies and development in the Middle East, but I think on a set of core interests, we continue to have a common view about what we aim to achieve,” said Ben Rhodes, Mr Obama’s deputy national security adviser.
The Gulf summit comes as the United States and five other nations work to reach an agreement with Iran by the end of June to curb its nuclear ambitions in exchange for relief from international economic sanctions. The Gulf nations fear that an influx of cash will only facilitate what they see as Iran’s aggression.
The White House says a nuclear accord could clear the way for more productive discussions with Iran about its reputed terror links. The US has criticised Iran’s support for Hizbollah, as well as terror attacks carried out by Iran’s Quds Force.
In 2011, the Obama administration accused Iran of plotting to kill the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the US in Washington.
Saudi Arabia was also particularly concerned about the situation in Yemen, where Houthi rebels with ties with Iran have ousted the US and Saudi-backed leader.
For more than a month, a Saudi-led coalition has tried to push back the Houthis with a bombing campaign.
On Tuesday, a five-day humanitarian ceasefire went into effect, though the pause in fighting was already at risk on Thursday.
Saudi officials cited the ceasefire as one of the reasons why king Salman needed to stay in Riyadh and not make the trip to the US.
* Associated Press