US pushes forward with plans for ‘Arab Nato’

The Trump administration pressed ahead yesterday with plans to create an “Arab Nato” that would unite US partners in the Middle East in an anti-Iran alliance.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in New York with foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar to advance the project. The State Department said Pompeo had stressed the need to defeat Daesh and other terrorist organisations as well ending the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, securing Iraq and “stopping Iran’s malign activity in the region.”

“All participants agreed on the need to confront threats from Iran directed at the region and the United States,” the department said in a statement. It added that the ministers had “productive discussions” on setting up what is to be known as the “Middle East Strategic Alliance” to promote security and stability in the region.

The statement gave no timeframe for establishing the alliance but said Pompeo would continue to work on it in the coming weeks and months.

Progress on creating the bloc has been hampered by a dispute arising out of Qatar’s intransigence.