King Salman of Saudi Arabia pulls out of US talks on Iran

King Salman of Saudi Arabia has withdrawn from a carefully orchestrated summit with the US that president Barack Obama hoped would assuage Gulf anxieties about the conclusion of a nuclear agreement with Iran.

The monarch had been expected to join other heads of state from the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries at an unprecedented meeting at the White House and a day of talks at the presidential retreat at Camp David. Now the only leaders attending will be the emirs of Qatar and Kuwait.

The deal with Iran, Saudi- led attacks on Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen and the crises in Syria and Iraq made for a difficult and crowded agenda.

The summit, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, follows months of tension and intensive US diplomacy designed to persuade Riyadh and its neighbours that Washington is not abandoning its Gulf allies to normalise relations with Tehran.

Salman will be represented instead by the newly appointed Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Nayef. – (Guardian)