Gulf Arabs relish Tillerson firing; Iran weighs nuclear deal
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s firing is reverberating across a Middle East where Iran fears his replacement will fight to end the 2015 nuclear deal, a hope of Gulf Arab states as Palestinians worry about a further-emboldened nationalist Israeli government.
Also at play is the ongoing diplomatic dispute between Qatar and four Arab nations, a crisis the former oilman sought to reconcile with no success during his brief tenure as America’s top diplomat.
How Tillerson’s proposed successor, CIA director Mike Pompeo, will handle these challenges remains to be seen. But Pompeo remains a major opponent of the atomic accord, while Tillerson had been pursuing a delicate strategy with European allies and others to try to improve or augment the Obama-era deal.
Already in Iran, some are expressing concerns.