The United States and Saudi Arabia have presented a united front to Iran and Syria, alerting Iran's leadership that patience over its alleged nuclear ambitions is wearing thin and warning Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that they will boost support to rebels unless he steps down.
John Kerry, the US secretary of state, was in Saudi Arabia on Monday on the latest leg of a nine-nation tour through Europe and the Middle East on his first overseas trip as Washington's top diplomat. In Riyadh on Monday, Kerry reminded Iran that US President Barack Obama has vowed not to allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon and that he has kept all options, including military options, on the table to prevent that from happening. The window of opportunity for a diplomatic solution "cannot by definition remain open indefinitely", Kerry said. "There is time to resolve this issue providing the Iranians are prepared to engage seriously on the P5+1 proposal.
But talks will not go on for the sake of talks and talks cannot become an instrument for delay that will make the situation more dangerous,'' he said.
Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi Foreign Minister, whose country shares concerns with other Gulf Arab states about
increasing Iranian aggressiveness in the region, agreed.
"We hope that the negotiations will result in putting an end to this problem rather than containing it," he said, "taking into account that the clock is ticking and negotiations cannot go on forever."
In addition to Saud and the Saudi crown prince, Kerry met in Riyadh with the foreign ministers of Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, all of whom are equally wary of Iranian intentions.
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