The foreign ministers of four Arab nations and the United States have presented a united front on the Iranian regime’s behavior toward its neighbors. At a first-of-its-kind meeting on Sunday, representatives from Egypt, Bahrain, the UAE and Morocco joined counterparts from the US and Israel in the kibbutz of Sde Boker, in Israel’s southern Negev Desert. The four Arab states have normalized relations with Israel in the last few years.
All parties expressed repeated concerns about Iranian military actions across the region. Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid said of the talks: “This new architecture, the shared capabilities we are building, intimidates and deters our common enemies, first and foremost Iran and its proxies. They certainly have something to fear. What will stop them is not hesitation or being conciliatory but rather determination and strength.”
Bahrain's Abdullatif al-Zayani also said the need for their countries to cooperate was made “more urgent” by frequent attacks by Iranian-backed militant groups on targets in Iraq and Syria. “We need to put into practice the principles behind the [normalization] accords,” he said, “mainly those of dialogue, cooperation and mutual respect.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also forced to reassure attendees about the security implications of a return to the JCPOA. Israel and the Gulf states remain deeply concerned that there are not enough safeguards to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb. Blinken said the US saw “eye to eye” with Israel on the issue: “We are both committed, both determined that Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon.”
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