U.S. Agrees to Speed up Arms Sales to Gulf States, Says Kerry

Washington has agreed to speed up arms sales to Gulf states, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced Monday after talks in Doha on their concerns over the Iran nuclear deal.

His Qatari counterpart, Khalid bin Mohammad Al-Attiyah, told a joint press conference with Kerry that the nuclear deal was "the best option among other options."

Kerry said the United States had "agreed to expedite certain arms sales that are needed and that have taken too long in the past."

Following talks with foreign ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Kerry said  Washington and its Arab allies in the region would also step up efforts to share intelligence and increase the number of joint military exercises.

The secretary of state traveled to the Qatari capital for meetings with the Sunni monarchies of the GCC in a bid to calm their fears over the nuclear accord with Shiite Iran.

The GCC groups Qatar with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Gulf countries have expressed concerns that the July 14 deal between Iran and world powers would allow greater interference in the region by the Islamic republic.

"We talked about the possibility, not the possibility, the reality of increasing the number of exercises that we are conducting together," Kerry said.

"These are a few examples and ways in which we believe the security of the region can be strengthened and cooperation will be enhanced."

Attiyah, for his part, said there was support for the nuclear deal among countries in the Gulf, despite their cautious reaction.

"This was the best option among other options to come up with a solution to the nuclear weapons of Iran through dialogue," the Qatari minister said, speaking in Arabic.

Kerry met Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir, and Qatar's emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, before heading into the talks with GCC foreign ministers.

He also held a three-way meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Jubeir, with discussions expected to center on Syria.

- 'New atmosphere' -

Kerry flew in to Qatar on Sunday evening after a visit to Egypt, where he also sought to assure Cairo that the landmark Iran deal signed in Vienna would bring greater security to the Middle East.

"There can be absolutely no question that if the Vienna plan is fully implemented, it will make Egypt and all the countries of this region safer than they otherwise would be or were," Kerry told reporters in Cairo.

Egypt like other regional states remains suspicious of Iran, which has backed President Bashar Assad's regime in Syria and Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen.

Kerry said the U.S. recognized that "Iran is engaged in destabilizing activities in the region -- and that is why it is so important to ensure that Iran's nuclear program remains wholly peaceful".

"If Iran is destabilizing, it is far, far better to have an Iran that doesn't have a nuclear weapon than one that does," he said.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday that the July 14 agreement had improved the prospects of ending the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

"The final solution in Yemen is political, in Syria the final solution is political," he said. "The agreement will create a new atmosphere. The climate will be easier."

- 'Strategic dialogue'- 

While in Cairo, Kerry held the first "strategic dialogue" since 2009 with his Egyptian counterpart.

Washington has been working to patch up troubled ties with Egypt, long a key Middle East ally, as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi battles an Islamic State group insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula.

Ties between the United States and Egypt frayed after then-army chief Sisi overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

More than 1,000 of Morsi's supporters have since been killed in a sweeping government crackdown, while militants have killed hundreds of soldiers and police.