US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pushes Saudi Arabia and Iraq to unite to counter growing Iranian assertiveness as a part of the Trump administration’s case for isolating and containing Iran in the Middle East. He also called for a quick resolution to Qatar crisis. He asserted that the ongoing crisis between the Arab states and Qatar will lead to bolstering Iran.
In Saudi Arabia and later Qatar, Tillerson denounced Iran’s “malign behavior” and urged nations of the region and Europe, to join the administration to halt any business they do with Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps. Tillerson said countries outside of the region could also play a role, primarily by shunning the Revolutionary Guards, which play a major role in Iran’s economy and were added to a U.S. terrorism blacklist earlier this month.
In Riyadh for the inaugural meeting of the Saudi Arabia- Iraq Coordination Council, a vehicle that US officials believe can wean Iraq from Iran, Tillerson told Saudi King Salman and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi that the nascent partnership between their countries held great promise for Iraq’s reconstruction after devastating battles to wrest territory from the Islamic State group and its independence from foreign influence.
Post Your Comments