The US is to keep its Gulf allies up to date and “engaged as much as possible” during talks with Iran, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.
“We will not be making any decisions or commitments that in any way undermine the prosperity, stability or security of our Gulf partners,” Mr Rubio said after meeting Gulf officials and foreign ministers in Bahrain on Thursday.
“At every step of the way, we’ll create a system where we are always in communication with them and they are not reading about it in the media. They really should be hearing directly from us and engaged as much as possible in this process as we move forwards.”
The meeting came at the end of Mr Rubio’s three-day tour of the region, which began days after the first round of US-Iran talks in Switzerland under a 14-point framework agreement.
The Gulf ministers welcomed the signing of the framework agreement, but stressed the need to “maintain the momentum and unity of the negotiations in order to achieve a lasting end to hostilities and the shared objective of preventing Iran from developing or acquiring a nuclear weapon”.
Ensuring a lasting peace in the region “requires addressing all forms of Iranian threats, including its ballistic missiles, drones and support for proxies in the region”, they added.
The ministers also emphasised the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and said unrestricted freedom of navigation was essential for regional and global security. They voiced strong opposition to “any fees, taxes or attempts to exert control over the strait”.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Thursday rejected Oman’s move to open a corridor to evacuate more than 11,000 sailors trapped in the Arabian Gulf. It said ships could safely cross the strait only through IRGC-approved routes.
A ship was struck by a projectile off the coast of Oman on Thursday evening, the UK Maritime Trade Organisation said. No casualties were reported.
