Following the announcement of the framework agreement in Geneva, President Barack Obama suggested that a final deal on Tehran’s nuclear program could also signal the start of a new relationship between the United States and Iran. Gulf states grew skeptical at these developments, worried that the actions would increase Iranian regional influence and signal diminished U.S. commitment to the Gulf. To allay these concerns, Obama held a summit at Camp David to demonstrate continued alliance with and support for the Gulf states.

The panel discussed Gulf-U.S.sentiments and expectations ahead of the summit and was joined by guest speaker Assistant Secretary General for Foreign Affairs of the Gulf Cooperation Council Dr. Abdel Aziz Abu Hamad Aluwaisheg.

Moderator: Hussein Ibish, Senior Resident Scholar, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington

Kristin Smith Diwan, Senior Adjunct Professorial Lecturer, School of International Service, American University; Visiting Scholar, Institute for Middle East Studies, The George Washington University

Bernard Haykel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies; Director of the Institute for Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, Princeton University

Hisham Melhem, Washington Bureau Chief, Al Arabiya News Channel

Judith Yaphe, Visiting Professor of International Affairs, Institute for Middle East Studies, The George Washington University; Non-Resident Fellow, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington