DOHA: Washington has agreed to speed up arms sales to Gulf states, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Monday after talks in Doha on their concerns over the Iran nuclear deal.

His Qatari counterpart, Khalid bin Mohammad Al-Attiyah, told a joint press conference with Kerry that the nuclear deal was “the best option among other options”. Kerry said the United States had “agreed to expedite certain arms sales that are needed and that have taken too long in the past”.

Know more: Iran, major powers reach historic nuclear deal in Vienna, diplomats confirm

Following talks with foreign ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Kerry said Washington and its Arab allies in the region would also step up efforts to share intelligence and increase the number of joint military exercises.

The secretary of state travelled to the Qatari capital for meetings with the Sunni monarchies of the GCC in a bid to calm their fears over the nuclear accord with Shia Iran.

The GCC groups Qatar with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Gulf countries have expressed concerns that the July 14 deal between Iran and world powers would allow greater interference in the region by the Islamic republic.

“We talked about the possibility, not the possibility, the reality of increasing the number of exercises that we are conducting together,” Kerry said.

“These are a few examples and ways in which we believe the security of the region can be strengthened and cooperation will be enhanced”. Attiyah, for his part, said there was support for the nuclear deal among countries in the Gulf, despite their cautious reaction.

“This was the best option among other options to come up with a solution to the nuclear weapons of Iran through dialogue,” the Qatari minister said, speaking in Arabic.

Kerry met Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir, and Qatar’s emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, before heading into the talks with GCC foreign ministers.

He also held a three-way meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Jubeir, with discussions expected to centre on Syria. Kerry flew in to Qatar on Sunday evening after a visit to Egypt, where he also sought to assure Cairo that the landmark Iran deal signed in Vienna would bring greater security to the Middle East.

“There can be absolutely no question that if the Vienna plan is fully implemented, it will make Egypt and all the countries of this region safer than they otherwise would be or were,” Kerry told reporters in Cairo.

Egypt like other regional states remains suspicious of Iran, which has backed President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Kerry said the US recognised that “Iran is engaged in destabilising activities in the region — and that is why it is so important to ensure that Iran’s nuclear programme remains wholly peaceful”.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2015

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