Obama reassures Saudi Arabia over Iran

WASHINGTON — President Obama sought Friday to re-assure the king of Saudi Arabia that the United States will help counter Iranian aggression in the Middle East, as the Saudis expressed public support for the contentious Iranian nuclear agreement

During a meeting at the White House, Obama and King Salman bin Abd al Aziz “affirmed the need to continue efforts to maintain security, prosperity and stability in the region and in particular to counter Iran’s destabilizing activities,” said a joint U.S.-Saudi statement.

For his part, King Salman “expressed his support” for the agreement that is designed to “prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and thereby enhance security in the region,” the statement said.

The meeting came as the Obama administration lines up support for the agreement in which the United States and its allies end economic sanctions on Iran as it gives up the means to make nuclear weapons. Saudi Arabia and some of its neighbors have been skeptical that Iran will live up to its end of the bargain, and say that Iran will use the non-sanctioned flow of money to finance terrorism in other countries, such as Yemen and Syria.

“This is obviously a challenging time in world affairs, particularly in the Middle East,” Obama told reporters prior to his meeting with King Salman.

In addition to Iran, Obama and the king also discussed ongoing conflicts in Yemen and Syria, the battle against the Islamic State, the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, the global economy, and climate change and clean energy production, the statement said.

Another topic: “On-going military cooperation” between the United States and Saudi Arabia, the statement said, including “fast-tracking the provision of certain military equipment to the Kingdom, as well as heightened cooperation on counter-terrorism, maritime security, cybersecurity, and ballistic missile defense.”

Speaking with an interpreter, King Salman told Obama that the U.S.-Saudi relationship “is beneficial not only to our two countries, but to the entire world and to our region.”

Before the Oval Office session, Obama administration aides said U.S. and Saudi officials would cover a variety of joint security and counter-terrorism efforts with Iran topping the list.

“We understand that Saudi Arabia has concerns about Iran’s behavior in the region,” said White House spokesman Ben Rhodes.

In an unusual move, Obama personally greeted the king at the door of the West Wing after the Saudi motorcade rolled up.

Rhodes said the Obama administration will “continue to be focused on discussing with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf partners how we can build more effective capabilities and cooperation to counter that Iranian activity.”

Obama and aides say the agreement will block Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. In selling the deal to skeptical Arab countries, they are also pledging stepped-up defense assistance against Iranian aggression.

Members of the Republican congressional majority, also critical of the Iran deal, are pushing for a resolution of disapproval. Obama has said he would veto such a resolution, and the administration expects to have enough lawmakers to sustain a veto.

King Salman was making first visit to Washington since ascending to the throne in January.

Outside the White House, demonstrators gathered to protest Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.

The organization Human Rights Watch said Saudi Arabia executes people in record numbers, including non-violent drug offenders, represses and jails dissidents, and discriminates against women and religious minorities.

“We’ve seen little sign in his first seven months that King Salman is prepared to end longstanding abuses at home,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

Whitson also criticized Saudi Arabia’s own military activity in Yemen, saying its U.S.-backed air campaign against Houthi forces “has included indiscriminate attacks and the use of cluster munitions that may be war crimes.”

Obama and King Salman held a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office, followed by a working lunch.

Also on the president’s schedule Friday: A late afternoon meeting with Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.