Persian Gulf monarchies issued an endorsement on Monday of the accord Secretary of State John Kerry negotiated last month with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.

“This was the best option among other options,” said Khalid al-Attiyah, the foreign minister of Qatar, who hosted a meeting of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council that Mr. Kerry attended, the New York Times reported.

In a news conference with Kerry, Attiyah said, “We are confident that what they undertook makes this region safer and more stable.”

Kerry and his counterparts from the Persian Gulf states also agreed on ways to expedite the military support and training efforts that President Obama promised at a meeting in May at Camp David with senior gulf state officials.

On the basis of Mr. Kerry’s assurances, Attiyah said the members of the council welcomed the American offers of support. “He let us know that there is going to be live oversight over Iran not to gain or to get any nuclear weapons,” Attiyah said. “This is reassuring to the region.”

The nuclear accord with Iran was negotiated by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.

None of Iran’s neighbors in the Middle East had a seat at the negotiating table.

But instead of assailing the agreement, as the Israeli government has done, the Arab states appear to have calculated that there was little to be gained from publicly criticizing a deal that stands a good chance of being enacted despite opposition from some American lawmakers.

Instead, they have concentrated on securing American support for their efforts to push back against Iran.

Kerry repeated on Monday promises that Mr. Obama made in May at the meeting with senior leaders and other officials from the Persian Gulf states at Camp David.

Kerry also said the United States would continue efforts to help the Persian Gulf states improve their missile defenses, increase joint military exercises.

For Kerry, the support of the Persian Gulf Arabs was a diplomatic victory for the State Department and a political one for the White House in its struggle to secure congressional support for the accord, which is undergoing a 60-day review.

The members of the [P]GCC are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

However, while most of the Persian Gulf states have been skeptical of the accord, Oman has been a notable exception: It played a crucial role in hosting the back-channel discussions between the United States and Iran.

In recent weeks, Kerry has mounted a two-pronged effort to win Arab support for the nuclear deal with Iran

On Sunday, before arriving in Doha, Mr. Kerry made his case to Egyptian officials in Cairo.

“There can be absolutely no question that if the Vienna plan is fully implemented it will make Egypt and all the countries of this region safer than they otherwise would be or were.”

The Obama administration has already taken steps to reassure Saudi Arabia, the most influential member of council. Last month, the administration approved the sale of $5.4 billion of Patriot missiles and other military equipment. It also authorized the sale of $500 million in ammunition.

Political analysts have said the nuclear deal between Iran and the West would help settle conflicts in the Middle East region.

In a live TV appearance late on Sunday Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the nuclear agreement showed that diplomacy and engagement were the only way to solve serious political problems and end crises.
“The final solution in Yemen is political, in Syria the final solution is political,” he said. “The agreement will create a new atmosphere. The climate will be easier.”
MD/PA