June 23, 2026
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio faces a delicate mission this week pitching Washington's Iran peace deal to Gulf Arab leaders who fear excessive concessions will strengthen Tehran and reshape the region's security balance and oil flows.
Rubio will meet them in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, before traveling to Kuwait and Bahrain, where he will meet officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council, a grouping of monarchies that also includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman.
At issue are elements of a draft agreement that include no limits on Iran’s ballistic missiles, a proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund and provisions that could expand Tehran’s regional influence and control over critical oil shipping lanes.
All six GCC nations are strategic US allies that offered some degree of logistical support to Washington during the US-Israeli war with Iran that began four months ago and all were buffeted by Iranian airstrikes as a result.
