US officials in Mideast to reassure jittery allies over Iran

Top Biden administration officials and U.S. senators have crisscrossed the Middle East, seeking to assuage growing unease among key Gulf Arab partners over America’s rapprochement with Iran and other policy shifts

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Top Biden administration officials and U.S. senators crisscrossed the Middle East on Monday, seeking to assuage growing unease among Gulf Arab partners over America’s re-engagement with Iran and other policy shifts in the region. The trips come as the U.S. and Iran, through intermediaries in Vienna, discuss a return to Tehran’s tattered 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that former President Donald Trump abandoned three years ago. The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies, excluded from Obama-era nuclear negotiations, have repeatedly pressed for a seat at the table, insisting that any return to the accord must address Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for regional proxies. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a key Biden ally dispatched on overseas diplomatic missions, told reporters in the UAE's capital of Abu Dhabi that he hoped to allay the sheikhdom's “understandable and legitimate concerns” about the return to the landmark deal and to create “broader engagement” with Gulf partners. Coons said “close consultation” with the UAE about the ongoing talks in Vienna was “important, expected and happening," adding that he hopes the Emiratis “may not just be notified, but actually help.”