Tillerson in Saudi Arabia for talks on containing Iranian influence

Yemen’s grinding civil war was expected to be high on US secretary of state’s agenda

Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir  and US secretary of state Rex Tillerson attend a press conference in Riyadh on on Sunday.  Photograph: Alex Brandon/AFP/Getty Images

Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir and US secretary of state Rex Tillerson attend a press conference in Riyadh on on Sunday. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AFP/Getty Images

US secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Riyadh on Saturday to attend a landmark meeting between officials from Saudi Arabia and Iraq aimed at improving relations between the two countries and countering Iran’s growing regional influence.

The chief US diplomat flew into King Salman Air Base a little more than a week after US president Donald Trump unveiled a strategy to contain Iran and compel Tehran to agree to close what he charged are flaws in the multinational 2015 deal designed to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons. Tillerson’s only official meeting on Saturday was a working dinner with Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir.

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