GCC official says summit "exceeds expectations"

In what might be characterized as a breakthrough by the trying standards of Middle East diplomacy, US President Barack Obama forged a diplomatic consensus with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) around the possible benefits of a nuclear agreement with Iran and a more collaborative approach to security in the Middle East.

No one expects the GCC countries to embrace a nuclear agreement with Iran, given the well-earned animosity and mistrust between Iran and some of the GCC countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and the bloodletting taking place in Syria and Yemen. And there will of course be leaks about the understandable anxieties of certain Arab leaders with Iranian behavior whether there is a nuclear agreement or not, as change is neither immediate nor smooth, let alone assured. 

But the detailed US-GCC Joint Statement following the May 13-14 Washington Summit should now be the benchmark for the positions of the United States and the GCC in addressing Iran and the broader issues of regional security in the Middle East. The summit statement should nullify the tired talking point by US critics that the Barack Obama administration is somehow selling out its Arab allies by pursuing a deal with Iran. Following the Camp David Summit, the United States and the GCC are, at least for now, and with eyes wide open about Iran, on the same page.