President Barack Obama meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef (C) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington Wednesday. At left is Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
Wall Street Journal: Obama, Saudi Foreign Minister to Meet Friday in Shadow of Iran Deal
WASHINGTON—In the wake of the nuclear agreement with Iran, President Barack Obama will meet Friday with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, a White House official said.
It is Mr. Obama’s first meeting with a key American ally from an Arab state since reaching the Iran deal on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia is the largest of the Arab states that have been deeply skeptical of Mr. Obama’s diplomatic outreach to Iran.
Mr. Obama’s meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir comes as the White House is working to ease fears among Arab states and follow through on commitments made earlier this year to provide them with new military and security guarantees.
Update: Obama to Meet Saudi FM on Iran Nuclear Deal -- VOA
WNU Editor: I would love to be a fly on the wall when that meeting happens. This is a hastily arranged meeting where I am sure that President Obama cleared his agenda to meet the Saudi foreign minister. Should anyone of us be surprised by this development .... no. The news that I am hearingand reading is not good .... Saudi Arabia is going to shift and change its strategic relationship with the U.S.. And while the U.S. press will focus on the story line that President Obama is going to try and persuade the Saudis that they have nothing to worry about the Iranian nuclear deal .... the real story is that the Saudi foreign minister is going to formally tell President Obama that "business as usual" is not going to be the state of affairs between Saudi Arabia and the U.S.. The consequences of such a shift cannot be underestimated. After Israel, the U.S. - Saudi relationship has been a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East for 70 years .... this is now being unraveled.
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