US secretary of state stops in Riyadh on six-day trip

US secretary of state Rex Tillerson arrived in Riyadh yesterday to attend a meeting between officials from Saudi Arabia and Iraq aimed at improving relations and countering Iran’s regional influence.

Mr Tillerson’s only official meeting yesterday was with Saudi foreign minister Adel Al Jubeir. He was stopping in Saudi Arabia on the first leg of a sixday trip that will also take him to Qatar, Pakistan, India and Switzerland.

His talks in Saudi Arabia and Qatar were expected to be dominated by the topic of Iran’s interference in Gulf and Middle East affairs.

Iran-backed militias have helped to turn the tide of the Syrian war in the government’s favour and have also played leading roles in Iraq’s battle to recapture territory from ISIL.

This week, they aided Iraqi security forces in seizing the northern city of Kirkuk and surrounding areas from Kurdish forces as part of an effort to crush a bid for independence by the Kurds.

Iran is also supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen against pro-government forces supported by a Saudi-led military coalition that is backed by the US. Yemen’s grinding war was expected to be high on Mr Tillerson’s agenda.

Today, the secretary of state is scheduled to attend the inaugural session of the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council, a body whose creation was promoted by the Trump government to bolster relations between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, whose Shiite-dominated government has close ties with Tehran.

During his visit, Mr Tillerson is also expected to explore the possibility of renewing a push to end a diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, although he has conceded that he is not optimistic.

The four countries have imposed sanctions against Doha over its support for terrorists and for cosying up to Iran at the region’s expense.

Mr Tillerson forged close ties with Gulf Arab countries in his former position as chief executive of Exxon Mobil.

Last week, US president Donald Trump unveiled a strategy to contain Iran and compel Tehran to agree to close what he charged are flaws in the multinational 2015 deal designed to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons.