Senior Dem to vote against Iran deal as Saudi king raises concerns with Obama

President Obama hosted Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz at the White House today, the first visit since the 79-year-old became king earlier this year. The meeting comes as Gulf nations fear the Iran nuclear agreement will destabilize the region through the lifting of sanctions. Also Friday, White House hopes for stopping a congressional challenge to the Iran nuclear deal and sparing Obama from using a veto suffered a setback when a key Senate Democrat, Ben Cardin of Maryland, announced his opposition.

This is obviously a challenging time in world affairs, particularly in the Middle East.

President Obama.

The U.S.– Saudi relationship has suffered strain because of what Riyadh sees as Obama’s withdrawal from the region, a lack of direct U.S. action against President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, and a perceived U.S. tilt toward Iran since the 2011 Arab uprisings. Salman skipped a Gulf Arab summit at Camp David in May, a move widely seen as a diplomatic snub over Obama’s Iran strategy — though both governments denied that interpretation. Despite the tensions, the two countries depend on each other on crucial security, business, and economic issues.

Both nations are close strategic partners in spite of their differences, and both states need each other.

Anthony Cordesman, a Middle East analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington.

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