US Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with King Salman of Saudi Arabia during a meeting at the Royal Court in Riyadh yesterday.

AFP/Riyadh

Iran is a destabilising force that must not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, top US diplomat John Kerry said in Saudi Arabia yesterday, aiming to calm Riyadh’s worries.
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbours fear Tehran might be able to develop an atomic bomb despite an international accord being drafted which aims to prevent that.
A framework agreement between Tehran and the US, France and other major powers limits Iran’s nuclear capabilities in return for a lifting of international sanctions.
Saudi Arabia and Iran are already divided over Syria, where Saudi Arabia backs Sunni-led rebels and Iran supports President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. But the war in Saudi Arabia’s neighbour Yemen has worsened relations.
“We made clear that we remain concerned about Iran’s destabilising actions in the region,” Kerry said after talks with King Salman.
Because of those concerns “we believe that it is so important that Iran not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and we will continue to work with our friends and allies in the region,” said the US secretary of state.

UAE seeks US security guarantee at Camp David talks on Iran nuclear imbroglio
The United Arab Emirates is seeking some form of US security guarantee from President Barack Obama’s Camp David meeting with the six Gulf Cooperation Council nations, the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Washington said yesterday.
“We are looking for (some form of) security guarantee given the behaviour of Iran in the region,” Ambassador Youssef al-Otaiba said at a Washington think tank. “In the past, we have survived with a gentleman’s agreement with the US about security ... I think today we need something in writing. We need something institutionalized.”
Obama has invited GCC leaders for meetings in Washington and at the Camp David presidential retreat May 13-14, an offer he made following the conclusion of a framework nuclear agreement with Iran.
Obama also is expected to make a renewed US push next week to help Gulf allies create a region-wide defence system to guard against Iranian missiles as he seeks to allay their anxieties over the proposed nuclear deal with Tehran, according to US sources.