Rubio excursions Gulf in bid to allay allies’ safety issues over the US-Iran memorandum of understanding.
Revealed On 24 Jun 2026
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on the second day of a go to to the Gulf area to reassure allies {that a} deal to finish the Iran-US warfare would account for his or her safety issues.
On Wednesday, Rubio held a working lunch with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and different senior figures, together with Nationwide Safety Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan and International Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
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He’s set to go to Kuwait and Bahrain within the coming days.
“We wish to hear from our companions,” Rubio instructed reporters as he arrived in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. “We wish to make it possible for their views are taken under consideration, and we perceive their safety issues, their regional financial issues as properly.”
His feedback come after the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding final week to increase a fragile ceasefire and work in direction of a everlasting finish to greater than 100 days of warfare. Talks are presupposed to proceed for 60 days to iron out thorny points, together with Iran’s nuclear programme.
The US and Israel launched the warfare on February 28, killing Iran’s Supreme Chief Ali Khamenei within the preliminary wave of strikes. As a part of its response, Tehran attacked, with various depth, all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) international locations. The UAE alone was focused by about 2,800 missiles and drones; in Kuwait, the airport, industrial ports and desalination crops had been hit; missile attacks on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial Metropolis, the nation’s predominant gasoline facility, brought about “vital harm”.
Iran additionally attacked and threatened to assault vessels passing by way of the Strait of Hormuz, by way of which the GCC nations export most of their oil and gasoline to the world. Iran’s de facto blockade of the slender waterway resulted in billions of {dollars} in misplaced revenues.
The US-Iran accord contains the resumption of site visitors by way of the maritime commerce chokepoint and the removing of a US blockade on Iranian ports. It’s not clear but whether or not Iran nonetheless intends to impose a charge for vessels passing by way of the strait, one thing that senior Iranian officers have beforehand urged. Trump made clear on Wednesday that it’s not an possibility. In an all-capital letter submit on his Reality Social platform, he mentioned that no tolls, no insurance coverage prices or fees of any form must be utilized to ships.
The settlement additionally features a waiver on US sanctions and the unfreezing of Iranian property.
It doesn’t deal with Iran’s ballistic missiles nor Tehran’s relations with its regional allies – two issues for Gulf international locations, which have discovered their cities and vitality infrastructure extremely susceptible to Iranian missiles, rockets and drones throughout the warfare.
