WASHINGTON — The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) may not have gotten what they wanted from the Obama administration this week, but they appear to have gotten some of what they need.

GCC Assistant Secretary-General Abdel Aziz Abu Hamad Aluwaisheg said at a news conference May 15 that the Camp David summit “exceeded the expectations of most of us” by reassuring GCC states of an “unequivocal” commitment to their security. President Barack Obama also stressed, Aluwaisheg said, that an impending nuclear deal with Iran does not represent a “pivot” toward Tehran.

“The US side made it very clear that they were aware of the issues that troubled us,” the GCC official said, speaking at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Obama “succeeded very well in putting those questions to rest.”

Marcelle Wahba, a former US ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and president of the Arab Gulf States Institute, told Al-Monitor that GCC members attending the May 13-14 summit welcomed a promised US package of increased support including more maritime security, special operations training and intelligence sharing.