No treaty, but “ironclad commitment” as US reassures Gulf leaders on Iran

It was already clear ahead of the 13-14 May US-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit that Gulf leaders were not going to come away with the written accord they desired, assuring them of US protection against an Iranian threat they fear will intensify if world powers go ahead and sign a nuclear deal with Tehran. A US official briefing journalists after an 8 May preparatory meeting of foreign ministers in Paris said the Gulf states had been told “weeks ago” that a formal treaty was not possible, and that, “whether they were disappointed or not”, it was something they had taken on board.