Rubio tries to reassure Gulf allies on US-Iran deal details

Rubio tours Gulf in bid to allay allies’ security concerns over the US-Iran memorandum of understanding.United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on the second day of a visit to the Gulf region to reassure allies that a deal to end the Iran-US war would account for their security concerns.On Wednesday, Rubio held a working lunch with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other senior figures, including National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Israel continues attacks on Lebanon despite agreeing to ceasefirelist 2 of 3Israel fetes Somaliland’s leader as it seeks to expand Red Sea influencelist 3 of 3Explosion at Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG facility kills at least 13end of listHe is set to visit Kuwait and Bahrain in the coming days.“We want to hear from our partners,” Rubio told reporters as he arrived in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. “We want to make sure that their views are taken into account, and we understand their security concerns, their regional economic concerns as well.”His comments come after the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding last week to extend a fragile ceasefire and work towards a permanent end to more than 100 days of war. Talks are supposed to continue for 60 days to iron out thorny issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme.The US and Israel launched the war on February 28, killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the initial wave of strikes. As part of its response, Tehran attacked, with varying intensity, all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The UAE alone was targeted by about 2,800 missiles and drones; in Kuwait, the airport, commercial ports and desalination plants were hit; missile attacks on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, the country’s main gas facility, caused “significant damage”.