U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel Tuesday through Thursday to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain, on a trip that will give the Trump administration a chance to sell its preliminary Iran accord directly to Gulf Arab allies, Reuters reports.
While in Bahrain, Rubio will also meet with the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, a grouping of six Sunni monarchies that also includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on Monday.
While GCC leaders have broadly supported efforts to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, many are disconcerted by the specific terms of the memorandum of understanding that U.S. President Donald Trump signed last week.
One point of particular concern among regional officials is the possibility of a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Tehran, which Gulf leaders assume the Islamic Republic will use to rebuild its military capacity, while funding regional proxy groups. The MoU's failure to address Iran's ballistic missile program is also worrying Washington's Gulf allies, who have been buffeted by Iranian missile and drone attacks in recent months.
Details of Rubio's trip, such as the precise timing of his visits to the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain and the list of leaders and officials he is due to meet, were not immediately available.
In the statement, Pigott, the State Department spokesperson, said Rubio, who also serves as the White House national security advisor, would "discuss a range of regional priorities including the memorandum of understanding with Iran, efforts to secure full and free safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, and the importance of peace and stability in the region."
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