Gulf Arabs welcome Iran nuke deal but seek further assurance

“The U.S. has expressed concerns about some of the challenges of human rights protection”. Talks had been suspended for this long owing to the Arab spring and the turmoil following authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in 2011.

Kerry is leading an American delegation to Egypt, where the two countries are holding strategic dialogue.

Ties between the U.S. and Egypt had frayed after then army chief el-Sissi overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

On the sidelines of Monday’s GCC gathering in Doha, Kerry will hold a three-way meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Saudi counterpart Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir.

“We are absolutely clear that terrorists who kill civilians and attack Egyptian security forces have to be brought to justice, and we stand with Egypt in that effort”, noted Kerry.

Speaking to the press ahead of the meeting, Kerry said he was “delighted” to be in Cairo, stressing that “the United States wants to work with [Egypt] to better attract capital”.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a press conference…

The Egyptian government says the Brotherhood is a threat to national security and denies all allegations of abuse, but its crackdown has extended to liberal activists and journalists. “They need to move quickly from process to delivering on commitments”.

Egypt says the Brotherhood is a terrorist group. Yes”, he said. “Have we laid them out? Yes. The last Shah of Iran was a close friend of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, his first wife was Egyptian and when the revolution ousted him from Tehran he spent the last months of his life in Cairo, where he remains buried to this day.

Shoukry accused the brotherhood of being a leading promoter of extremism in the region, including neighboring Libya, which is in the throes of conflict.

Kerry’s visit to Qatar follows one last week by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who also stopped in Kuwait and Iraq to present Tehran’s side of the nuclear deal. The route is to be opened on Thursday and is expected to boost Egypt’s flagging economy. The White House placed more than $1 billion in annual U.S. military aid for Egypt on hold in the months after the military takeover.

Kerry, who did not speak while reporters were present, is not traveling to Israel on this trip and U.S. leverage with the current Israeli government is limited, given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vehement and vocal opposition to the Iran deal.

Mr. Kerry argued in Cairo that the deal would restrain Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and make the Arab states more secure.

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday said the nuclear deal reached between Iran and the world powers would make Egypt and the region “safer than they otherwise would be”.

Also on Sunday, an Egyptian court again postponed announcing a verdict in the retrial of three Al-Jazeera English journalists.

Still, Kerry mildly rebuked Egyptian officials for their imprisonment of democracy advocates and journalists. An Egyptian judge on Sunday said a ruling on the case has been delayed until August. 29.

Fahmy added: “It’s crippling our lives”.