US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Gulf Arab allies on Thursday that any deal with Iran would take their interests into account, as he wrapped up a Middle East trip aimed at selling the Trump administration's preliminary accord to sceptical regional partners.
Speaking at a meeting of Gulf Arab foreign ministers and officials in Bahrain, Rubio said Washington was seeking an enduring peace with long-time foe Iran that would not undermine the security and prosperity of its allies in the region, which fear the accord is too soft on Iran after it attacked them in the war.
Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, who chaired the gathering, welcomed Oman's announcement of a corridor for the safe passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Rubio's three-day tour of the Gulf is the first high-level diplomatic mission since the U.S.-Iran framework agreement last week to end the conflict, which started on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
He has acknowledged the delicacy of his mission as he seeks to win over Gulf Arab leaders wary that excessive concessions could strengthen Tehran and reshape the region’s security balance and oil flows.
At his previous stops in the UAE and Kuwait, Rubio sought to assure officials that the proposed deal was not overly favourable to Iran, which struck several Gulf states during the war.
"We're not going to do anything that undermines the security of our allies, our longstanding allies in the region," he told reporters in Kuwait.
Rubio said he would not be asking regional allies to contribute to any reconstruction fund during the trip, even as the MoU with Iran suggests that countries in the region would at least be partially responsible for footing the bill.
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