President Obama vigorously defended his nuclear negotiations at the end of a summit of Persian Gulf state leaders and a rocky visit to Saudi Arabia aimed at reassuring the anxious ally and seeking more support for the fight against the Islamic State.
While the president acknowledged Saudi concern that the United States should not be “naïve” when dealing with Iran, he cited previous presidents’ willingness to engage in talks with Russia during the height of the Cold War as models to follow.
“John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan still negotiated with the Soviet Union even when the Soviet Union was threatening the destruction of the U.S.,” he said.
“That’s the same approach we have to take. Even as Iran is calling us the great Satan, we were able to get a deal done that reduces their nuclear stockpiles. That’s not a sign of weakness, that’s a sign of strength.”
Obama said he told Gulf leaders that the U.S. has to operate on a “dual track” with Iran in order to “be effective in our defense and hold Iran to account.
“But we also have to have the capacity to enter into a dialogue to reduce tensions and identify ways in which we [can engage] more reasonable forces inside of Iran and negotiate with the countries in the region so we don’t see an escalation and proxy fight across the region.”
Obama’s statement came the day after tensions flared between Obama and Saudi King Salman during a meeting Wednesday night that lasted more than two hours.
Afterward, the White House tried to tamp down talk of the frayed relationship by saying the meeting helped “clear the air” between the two leaders.
“I think it was a very open and honest discussion where they were able to address a whole range of issues … some of which we have been in agreement on and some [which have been] a source of tensions,” said Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes.
Rhodes then called the face-to-face talk an “opportunity to clear the air.”
Signs of the broken relationship dogged the president since the moment he landed in Riyadh. Right away, Saudi experts said Salman snubbed Obama at the airport by failing to show up on the tarmac to meet him. Instead, a lower-ranking royal, Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, the governor of Riyadh, greeted the president.
On Wednesday, Saudi Intelligence Chief Prince Turki Al-Faisal told CNN his country plans “a recalibration of our relationship with America.”
“How far we can go with our dependence on America, how much can we rely on steadfastness from American leadership, what is it that makes for our joint benefits to come together?” he asked.
In formal public statements, Saudi leaders have been far less confrontational about their frustration.
During Thursday’s press conference with Obama, Salman called the summit with Gulf leaders that took place throughout the day “constructive and fruitful.”
Obama then reported that the Gulf leaders had agreed to “build an even stronger partnership between our nations,” and to continue increasing resources in the “united” fight against the Islamic State.
The president even went so far as to thank Gulf leaders for their publicly expressed support for the Iran deal, an agreement he argued “cut off every single one of Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon.”
But, he said, the U.S. continues to have “serious concerns” about Iran’s behavior in the region and raised the possibility that diplomacy could help resolve conflicts in Yemen and Syria.
He also pledged to use “all elements of our power” to deter external aggression against these allies and said the U.S. military would step up its training of Arab allies’ special forces to help counter the Islamic State.
When it comes to the Syrian ceasefire, which he said is under “tremendous strain,” he said the Gulf partners continue to work for a “political transition away from” Syrian President Bashar Assad.
At the conclusion of the summit, Rhodes said the ceasefire over the past several weeks had “provided an opening” for relative calm in some areas of the country and the opportunity to distribute humanitarian relief. But, he said, there have been “persistent violations” of the ceasefire from the Assad regime in Northwest Syria, and the al Nusra terrorist group.
“It’s important now that the U.S., our Gulf partners are reinforcing the importance of this opportunity, and we’re strongly urging Russia to use its influence, and frankly Iran as well, to sustain what has been an opening” for the Syrian people to experience a break from the violence.
