US seeks to reassure wary Gulf allies over Iran deal: Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel holds talks in Bahrain Friday to reassure anxious Gulf allies that the US military will maintain a robust regional presence despite a nuclear deal with Iran.
Defense Secretary Hagel, who flew to Bahrain on Thursday evening, will convey to Gulf leaders at a security conference that the United States remains a steadfast partner and has no plans to scale back its military deployments or weapons sales to the Gulf Arab states, officials said.
"It's a somewhat tense time for the region. There's a lot of questions about US policy, particularly about where things are going in the wake of the Iran interim agreement," a senior US defence official told reporters travelling with Hagel.
In private meetings and in a speech Saturday, Hagel will seek "to reassure our partners here that nothing has changed in our defence posture as a result of the recent negotiation and interim agreement with Iran," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
