U.S.
President Donald Trump's defense secretary arrived in the United Arab Emirates
on Saturday for talks with one of Washington's closest allies in the Middle
East.
Jim Mattis,
on his debut trip to the region as Pentagon chief, was expected to meet Abu
Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan and U.S. embassy
representatives. U.S. officials have not disclosed details about his agenda.
In late
January, Trump and the Crown Prince spoke by telephone and the White House said
they had discussed a proposal for safe zones for Syrian refugees displaced by
the conflict.
Mattis, a
retired Marine general who is reviewing U.S. war plans against Islamic State in
Syria and Iraq, is a familiar figure to Gulf Arab rulers.
A former
leader of Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the
region, Mattis said in his Senate confirmation hearings that Iran was "the
biggest destabilising force in the Middle East and its policies are contrary to
our interests."
Such views
play well with Gulf Arabs, who hope Trump's administration will check what they
see as a surge of Iranian support for paramilitary allies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen
and Lebanon and for fellow Shi'ite Muslims in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia's
oil-producing Eastern Province.
The United
Arab Emirates is also a key U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda in Yemen.
(Reuters)
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