Rubio starts Middle East trip as Gulf allies sceptical about Iran deal seek answers

(Reuters)

ABU DHABI, June 24 – U.S. Secretary of ​State Marco Rubio held talks with top United Arab Emirates officials on Wednesday on a Middle East tour, seeking to reassure Gulf allies who ‌view a proposed Iran peace deal as too generous to a state that attacked them in the war.

President Donald Trump’s deal, signed last week, includes a proposed $300 billion fund and the waiver of some sanctions.

Arriving in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi late on Tuesday for a three-day tour of the oil-rich Gulf, Rubio is undertaking his first high-level diplomatic mission on the agreement to end the four-month-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

Rubio held a working ​lunch with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other senior figures, including National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Foreign ​Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.