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U.S. vows to help Saudi Arabia contain Iran regime’s regional ambitions

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“Saudi and U.S. leaders agreed Wednesday to curb Iran’s military reach across the Middle East, amid fears that last week’s nuclear deal with Tehran would encourage it to pursue more aggressive regional ambitions,” The Washington Post reported on Thursday.

“Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter held talks with Saudi Arabia’s king and its defense minister in the seaside city of Jiddah, where Saudi officials have decamped for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, as he tours Middle Eastern nations that are anxious about the Iran accord.”

The Washington Post report added: “As the region’s largest Sunni power, Saudi Arabia has privately issued warnings about the deal, which would curb Shiite Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the easing of economic sanctions, and those warnings carry weight in Washington. “

“At the end of the Iran nuclear talks, the Saudi government threatened ‘harsh and determined responses’ if Tehran used the proceeds of sanctions relief to enhance support for proxy groups in the region, including Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen.”

The Washington Post article said : “A Western diplomat, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the conflict, said that Iran and Hezbollah, the Tehran-backed Shiite armed movement in Lebanon, have sent advisers to Yemen. He declined to say how many but noted that even a dozen could have a notable effect by teaching Houthis to operate sophisticated weapons.”

Last month, Houthi forces fired a Scud missile into Saudi Arabia. The missile was shot down, but the attack underscored that the group could adopt more sophisticated military technology.

“Over the last four months, the conditions have really allowed Iran to flood the zone,” the diplomat said.