A grouping of Gulf Arab countries publicly supported the recent nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers after receiving assurance from the United States.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held a day-long meeting with fellow foreign ministers from the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Qatar on Monday, reported Gulf Today. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain are members of GCC.
"This was the best option among other options to come up with a solution to the nuclear weapons of Iran through dialogue and this came up as a result of the efforts exerted by the United States of America and its allies," Qatari foreign minister Khalid bin Mohammad Al-Attiyah, who chaired the meeting, told a joint press conference with Kerry, according to AFP.
"Now everybody can hope that perhaps there will be a turning of the page, but we are preparing for the possibility that that may not happen," Kerry said, according to Times of Oman.
"So we will work with our friends and allies in the region to make certain we are doing the most possible to prevent any kind of external or illegal or inappropriate engagement within a country from destabilising our friends and allies," he said.
Kerry also agreed to expedite arms transfer to gulf countries. "United States agreed to expedite certain arms sales that are needed and that have taken too long in the past," the U.S. secretary of state said, according to AFP.
The Gulf Sunni monarchies have expressed concern that the nuclear deal would deepen Shiite Iran's involvement in Arab affairs, according to Bloomberg.
