White House officials said that President Barack Obama will visit Saudi Arabia next week as part of a tour during which he will also visit Britain and Germany. White House officials said that President Obama will meet the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz next Wednesday and will hold consultations regarding the fight against terrorism, challenges facing the region and ongoing efforts to address the crisis in Syria. Iranian threats and how to strengthen cooperation between the United States and the Gulf states will also be discussed.

The American Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said yesterday that President Barack Obama will participate in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meetings on Thursday. Three sessions will be held; the first will discuss how to achieve stability in the region and address regional issues such as the Syrian crisis and the situation in Iraq, Yemen and Libya. The second session will discuss international efforts to fight terrorism, ways to strengthen defences against cyber threats and strengthen efforts to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria. As for the third session, it will focus on Iranian threats and the extent of Iran’s commitment to its international obligations under the nuclear deal that it signed with the United States and other major powers. Its actions aimed at destabilising the region, its sponsorship of terrorism and the several ballistic missile experiments that it has conducted will also be discussed.

Rhodes added that President Obama plans to discuss efforts made in the war against ISIS in Iraq, the situation in Yemen, Iran, and issues related to regional stability.