The offer of talks with Iran to resolve doubts about the intent of its nuclear program remains on the table, US officials said, but the United States has moved away from making outreach to Iran the primary goal.
“We are certainly hopeful that the Saudis will use whatever influence they have, which is considerable, in this region and throughout the world to try to help us in our efforts at the UN so that we can get meaningful sanctions enacted against Iran,” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said following Gates’ meetings with King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Crown Prince Sultan and other senior leaders.
King Abdullah received Gates at his ranch in Janadriya on the outskirts of Riyadh. During the meeting, overall events and developments in the region as well as prospects for cooperation between the two countries were discussed, Saudi Press Agency said.
Gulf nations have been wary of the growing influence of Iran, and Saudi Arabia has long warned of the potential for a nuclear arms race in the Gulf region if Iran gained the bomb.
Iran claims its nuclear program is aimed at peaceful production of energy. The United States and Western allies openly scoff at that claim, and worry that Iran is closing on the means to build a weapon is behind the latest push for United Nations Security Council penalties on Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards.
If approved, the new sanctions would be the fourth set of penalties applied to Iran over its disputed nuclear program.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Saudi Foreign Minister, has expressed doubts about the usefulness of more sanctions on Iran, saying the world needs a quicker and more direct approach.
