US bid to build Arab support for Iran deal struggles

Saudi Arabia’s monarch has pulled out of a summit in a blow to US efforts to build Arab support for a nuclear accord with Iran.

Yemeni children holding rifles sit in the back of a heavily armed pick up truck with fighters loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in the Dar saad neighbourhood of the southern Yemeni city of Aden on May 10, 2015, as they continue to battle Shiite Huthi rebels. AFP PHOTO / SALEH AL-OBEIDI

Saudi Arabia’s monarch has pulled out of a summit to be hosted by President Barack Obama on Friday in a blow to the White House’s efforts to build Arab support for a nuclear accord with Iran.

King Salman’s decision ­appeared to ripple across the Persian Gulf yesterday. Bahrain said its ruler, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, had opted not to travel to Washington.

The only two monarchs from the six countries confirmed as ­attending the summit at the White House and the presidential retreat at Camp David, in Maryland, are the emirs of Qatar and Kuwait.

At stake for the White House is Mr Obama’s key foreign policy ­initiative, an Iran pact that is proceeding towards a June 30 deadline without support from regional powers. King Salman’s decision signals the Arab states are not on board and could continue to act on their own to thwart Tehran, as Saudi Arabia has done in leading a military coalition against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.

Senior Arab officials involved in organising the meeting said too little progress had been made in narrowing differences with Washington on issues such as Iran and Syria to make the trip worthwhile.

“There isn’t substance for the summit,” said an Arab official who has held talks with the Obama ­administration in recent days. Senior US officials said as ­recently as Friday that they expected King Salman, who took power in January, to travel to Washington.

The Obama administration planned the summit as a way to build Arab support for the Iran ­nuclear deal by giving more arms and security guarantees to members of the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.

The White House yesterday sought to play down any rift with Riyadh or the other GCC countries, stressing Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and his deputy would be at the meetings.

“We look forward to the ­attendance of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, with whom the President has met on several occasions, including in the Oval Office in December 2014 and January 2013,” said Bernadette Meehan, spokeswoman for the National Security Council.

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said King Salman was staying in Riyadh to focus on the Yemen ceasefire and humanitarian aid effort.

“Minister al-Jubeir reiterated King Salman’s commitment to achieving peace and security in Yemen and his eagerness to the speedy delivery of humanitarian aid to the brotherly people of Yemen,” Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said.

The Obama administration has cited the GCC summit as crucial for building regional support for the US’s Middle East policies, particularly its diplomatic engagement with Iran.

Saudi Arabia has been critical of White House efforts to curb Tehran’s nuclear capacity in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

Riyadh has also pressed the US to take more aggressive steps to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Iran’s closest Arab ally, and to push back the Tehran-supported insurgency in Yemen.

US Secretary of State John Kerry met King Salman last Friday in Riyadh to discuss the Camp David agenda, US officials said. He then met the GCC’s foreign ministers in Paris, where he offered to give the GCC countries non-NATO major-ally status, said a senior US official. Arab diplomats showed “very, very tepid interest”, the official added.

Saudi officials told Mr Kerry on Friday that King Salman would ­attend the Camp David summit, US officials said, and that the overall message in Paris was positive.

“We have heard nothing negative about what we are trying to do,” the US official said yesterday.

In Paris, Mr Kerry and Mr ­Jubeir agreed on a plan to forge a ceasefire in Yemen and to promote a political transition in the Arab country. The Obama administration also pushed for better ­integrating the US’s and GCC countries’ missile defence systems as a way to contain Iran.

“Whoever comes will be empowered to speak in the name of their government and will sign on to whatever‎ is agreed to at Camp David,” the US official said.

Arab officials said they did not believe the agenda at Camp David would go far enough to address their concerns about Iran.

Some of the Arab states said they were hoping the GCC could sign a mutual defence treaty with Washington, similar to South Korea’s and Japan’s. Such treaties would bind the US to defend the Persian Gulf states if they faced Iranian aggression.

The White House, however, did not believe it could win congressional approval to back such a treaty, said US and Arab officials.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar also are seeking more advanced weaponry to counter Iran, including surveillance equipment, cruise missiles and drones. These countries also have expressed interest in buying the F-35 jet fighter.

Sales of such military gear are complicated by the US’s strategic alliance with Israel, officials said.

Additional reporting: Ahmed Al-Omran

The Wall Street Journal