WASHINGTON: The United States and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have agreed to develop joint ballistic missiles capability and an early warning system to prevent any external threat to the Arab states.

Earlier, US President Barack Obama offered an “ironclad” guarantee to GCC states that the United States would consider using military force to defend them if they faced external aggression.

“We will work together to develop an integrated GCC defence capability against ballistic missiles, including an early warning system,” said a statement issued after a day-long summit meeting at the Camp David presidential resort.

“And we will work towards the development of rapid response capabilities to undertake missions such as counter-terrorism and peace-keeping,” the joint statement added.

At a Thursday evening news conference, President Obama also assured his GCC allies that the deal he was negotiating with Iran aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic “from obtaining a nuclear weapon”.

“I am reaffirming our ironclad commitment to the security of our Gulf partners … the United States is prepared to work jointly with GCC member states to deter and confront an external threat to any GCC state’s territorial integrity that is inconsistent with the UN Charter,” he said.

“In the event of such aggression, or the threat of such aggression, the United States stands ready to work with our GCC partners to urgently determine what actions may be appropriate, using the means at our collective disposal, including the potential use of military force, for the defence of our GCC partners,” said the US president. “And let me underscore — the United States keeps our commitments,” he added.

President Obama also announced that he would streamline weapon sales and increase joint military exercises with Gulf allies to show America’s willingness to help protect them against Iran.

“We want to make sure this is not just a photo-op, but a concrete series of steps,” he said.

Before the summit, the Gulf states had asked for specific measures from the United States to help them deal with a perceived threat from Iran. They also were seeking an assurance that the deal the United States and five other world powers were negotiating with Iran would not allow it to build nuclear weapons.

All six GCC nations — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — attended the summit, although only two, Kuwait and Qatar, sent their kings. All others sent their deputies.

After the summit, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters that the meeting also focused on how to counter Iran’s “negative involvement” in the region.

“We were assured that the objective is to deny Iran the ability to have a nuclear weapon, and that all pathways to a nuclear weapon will be closed,” he said.

“We will follow the talks and see before we can judge in terms of whether or not the Iranians will do what it takes to reach a deal.”

The US media, however, pointed out that the GCC nations did not get what they exactly wanted: a Nato-like treaty to formalise a defence pact with the United States.

In remarks he read jointly with Mr Obama after the summit, Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said they also talked about “non-Arab countries interfering in regional affairs and in Arab countries”.

The crises in Syria and Iraq and the threats of extremism and terrorism were also discussed, he said.

The two sides will now “hold intensive meetings to further develop the strong relationship” in the fields discussed at the summit, said the emir.

In the United States, the Republican National Committee mocked the “no-show summit”, which it said was “an embarrassing snub and a blow” to President Obama’s foreign policy.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2015

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