Kuwait City (Kuwait) (AFP) – Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised Gulf allies of the United States on Wednesday that Washington would protect their interests as it seeks to hammer out a final settlement of the Middle East war in talks with Iran.
President Donald Trump met with NATO chief Mark Rutte at the White House, meanwhile, and said the United States was “doing great” in negotiations with Iran. Trump also asked Congress on Wednesday for nearly $88 billion in supplemental funding, most of it for the Pentagon to cover the cost of the Iran war. The proposal landed a day after Congress passed a largely symbolic resolution calling on Trump to end US hostilities with Iran unless lawmakers explicitly authorize military action.
Rubio is on a regional tour to reassure the Gulf states, which were targeted by Tehran’s missiles and drones during the conflict and saw their crucial oil and gas shipments effectively cut off by an Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has emerged emboldened from the war, vowing not to relinquish control of the vital waterway and going so far as to call its initial deal with Washington to stop the fighting “a declaration of America’s defeat.”
During a visit to Kuwait City, Rubio said Washington would be on the same page as Gulf states as it wrangles with Iran over a permanent settlement to the conflict. “We’re going to be completely aligned with our partners in the Gulf,” he said, adding that the United States would “engage them on conversations about every decision that’s made with regards to this negotiation.” Rubio is due to attend a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Bahrain on Thursday after sitting down with the leaders of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday.
The initial US-Iran deal, which sets out a 60-day negotiating process aimed at reaching a long-term agreement, failed to address Gulf nations’ long-standing concerns about Iran’s missile program and regional proxies. But Rubio insisted Washington was “not going to do anything that undermines the security of our allies.”
Tehran, however, has already portrayed the deal as a victory. Its top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that the agreement, reached with the help of Pakistani mediation, was “the result of the resistance and authority of the brave Iranian nation.” “That is why the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding became a declaration of America’s defeat,” he said. Rubio and Pakistan said technical talks between the United States and Iran were expected to resume in the coming days following a first round in Switzerland.
Rubio also insisted on Wednesday that the United States was committed to preserving the pre-war status quo of toll-free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, which carries a substantial proportion of global oil and gas shipments. “I know of no country on the planet that supports tolling or fees for the use of the strait,” he said in Kuwait. In Washington, Trump said imposing any fees on shipping would be “unacceptable.” Iran, however, has repeatedly said it intends to retain control over the strait, along with Oman, and charge what it calls maritime service fees for crossing it.
Qatar’s prime minister, meanwhile, travelled to Oman to initiate talks on the strait between the Gulf states, Iraq, and Iran, a diplomat told AFP. The diplomat said Gulf countries would push for no-charge freedom of navigation, while Iran was expected to ask for an environmental and security service fee. Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, another diplomat said separate talks on reconciliation between Gulf countries and Iran were expected to be held in Saudi Arabia, though they did not specify a date.
Iran’s Ghalibaf reiterated Wednesday that peace in Lebanon, which was drawn into the war when Tehran-backed Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel, was a fundamental pillar of reaching a definitive agreement with the United States. “For us, the ceasefire in Lebanon has been and is as important as the ceasefire in Iran,” he said. The violence in Lebanon has ebbed in recent days but Hezbollah accused Israel of a “blatant” truce violation on Wednesday after an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle killed two people in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said it targeted “two armed Hezbollah terrorists” and vowed to “continue to operate to remove immediate threats.”
Under US pressure, Lebanese officials began direct talks in April with Israel in Washington, with Lebanese authorities seeking to separate the negotiations from the US-Iran deal. In the beachside Lebanese city of Tyre, 40-year-old Hussein Hassan was welcoming customers to his barbershop, despite one of its walls being cracked and its glass facade blown away in Israeli strikes. Tyre residents “love life and work. We shake off the dust and rise up again like the phoenix,” he said.
© 2024 AFP
