Dubai/Manama: New US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reassured Saudi Arabia that the United States would abandon the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, reached under President Donald Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, unless there is an agreement in talks with European partners to improve it to make sure the Islamic Republic never possesses a nuclear weapons.
“Iran destabilises this entire region,” Pompeo said in a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir.
“It supports proxy militias and terrorist groups. It is an arms dealer to Al Houthi rebels in Yemen. It supports the murderous Al Assad regime (in Syria) as well.”
Pompeo also addressed the rift between some Gulf countries and Qatar: “Gulf unity is necessary and we need to achieve it.”
Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, cut off travel and trade ties with Qatar last June, accusing it of supporting terrorism and arch-rival Iran on the other side of the Gulf.
Pompeo met briefly with Saudi King Salman on Sunday before heading directly to Occupied Jerusalem for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The visit by Pompeo was hailed by observers as an indication of the US commitment to the defence of Saudi Arabia, and other friends and partners in the region, they said.
“We in the Arabian Gulf welcome any steps that would rein in Iran’s reckless escalation and ominous expansionist policies,” Mohammad Jaber, an analyst, said in Manama.
“We are also glad to see the US play a more active role in dealing with the situation sensibly, based on hard facts, and not on emotional inclinations or in the sole interests of the West.”
The visit also sent a strong signal the US could this time be serious about addressing the issue with one of its major partners in the region.
- Mohammad Jaber | an analyst
“We have heard a lot of war cries in the past, but no concrete [action] was ever taken. Now Pompeo gives the impression he is serious about the matter. People in the Gulf have repeatedly said the nuclear deal with Iran was not as good some countries thought because it did not take into consideration the interests of the states in the region,” Jaber said.
Pompeo started his maiden trip as Secretary of State on Friday with a meeting with Nato foreign ministers at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.
There, he repeated Trump’s pledge to withdraw from the Iran deal unless it was significantly strengthened.
“We really want to move beyond the daily threats and acts of terror carried out by proxy militias and terror groups acting on behalf of Iran as it seeks to expand its hegemony,” Jaber said.
“We will be waiting for May 12 to see if President Donald Trump will really act on his pledge to review the nuclear deal ... to make Tehran understand it cannot have a free hand in the region after sanctions were lifted in 2015 as part of the nuclear deal.”
He was refering to an approaching deadline for Trump to decide on whether to continue to waive sanctions against Iran or reinstitute them.
Meanwhile, in Moscow, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the Trump administration of reneging on US obligations, saying demands for changes to the deal signed by the US and five other world powers were “unacceptable”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also emphasised the “inviolability” of the deal.
“Otherwise, there will be no platform for continuing contacts and for continuing dialogue,” he told reporters Saturday.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both used trips to Washington this week to lobby Trump not to walk away from the agreement, which they fear could encourage Iran to resume its nuclear programme.
But Trump has decried what he sees as “terrible flaws” in the accord, including that it does not address Iran’s ballistic missile programme or its support for militant groups elsewhere in the Middle East.
At the end of his trip Macron said he had a feeling that Trump would decide to pull out of the agreement altogether.
Shortly before Pompeo arrived on Saturday in Riyadh, Iran-backed Al Houthi militants in Yemen fired eight ballistic missiles at the southern Saudi city of Jizan.
Saudi Arabia, which is engaged in a war against Al Houthi militants, said its air defences intercepted four of the missiles.
But they said shrapnel from the attack killed a civilian and damaged two homes.
Senior officials traveling with Pompeo accuse Iran of supplying the munitions and said the visit was also intended to press for more sanctions on individuals, businesses and government agencies associated with Iran’s missile programme.
US officials told reporters Pompeo wanted to reassure Saudi leaders of Washington’s commitment to its allies in the Middle East.
“The situation in the Middle East and the region is very volatile and therefore there is a need for great attention and positive engagement,” Fareed Ahmad, a Bahraini analyst, said.
“Only those who are here on the ground can truly appreciate the significance of what is happening and how the situation could be compounded. Therefore, we do welcome the decision by Pompeo to come to Saudi Arabia and to discuss the future of the nuclear deal among other issues.”
Most Gulf countries openly opposed the deal because it was drawn up without involving them at any level, and many observers expressed concern the agreement came at the expense of GCC interests.
“On the surface, the deal was between Iran and six other nations, but in fact, it affected the region, as can be seen in Yemen and Syria. Gulf countries have also been targeted by Iran through its proxies following the deal, the lifting of the sanctions and the cash that Tehran got; it channeled that cash to its proxy groups. There is greater interference by Iran in the domestic affairs of Arab countries,” Ahmad said.
Meanwhile, Jaber said reports about pressure on Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain to end the boycott of Qatar were not realistic.
“The claim is the boycott should be ended in order to form a unified front against Iran,” he said.
“That is a great step forward. But the reality is different. The issue with Doha has different roots and manifestations. Even before the Qatar crisis, not all six members of the GCC had the same approach towards Iran. So, there is no real link between the Qatar crisis and the stance towards Iran’s nuclear deal.”
On June 5, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt severed their diplomatic, trade and travel relations with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremists and funding terrorism.
Qatar denied the charges and attempts led by Kuwait and supported by the US to mediate between the two sides have so far failed to achieve any incremental success.
Pompeo is largely seen as attempting to launch a new drive to bridge the gap and start his tenure with something his predecessor failed to accomplish.
