A senior U.S. official said Washington remained concerned that Iran’s ballistic missiles threatened Gulf Arab states.
Frank Rose, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for space and defense policy, said Washington was “acutely” aware of Gulf Arab states’ anxieties about Iran and wanted to help them launch a Gulf-wide coordinated missile defense capability.
We have concerns about Iran’s other bad behaviors, specifically their support for terrorism as well as their continued development of ballistic missile capabilities, Rose told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Abu Dhabi on missiles and defense.
“As long as Iran continues to develop ballistic missiles that can threaten the United States or deployed forces and our friends and allies in the region, we will work effectively with our partners here in the UAE as well as the rest of the Gulf to defend against that threat.”
The United States and its allies fret that such missiles could potentially carry nuclear warheads.

Rose said the priority for United States in the region was to develop a coordinated missile defense system for Gulf Arab states, something the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council lack.
Missiles are not at the heart of the talks over Iran’s nuclear work, which centre on the production of fissile material usable in atomic bombs, and Rose made no comments as to whether the topic should be part of the discussions.
However, a senior U.S. official noted that a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted in 2010 banned all activity by Iran related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, adding: “In some way, this will have to be addressed.”
Retired Major General Khaled al-Bu Ainnain, a former commander of UAE Air Force and Air Defense, told the conference Gulf Arab states must improve their anti-missile capabilities.
“Today if there’s a cruise missile passing through Qatar and going to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, how to share this information with neighboring countries? There has to be central operating procedures … We don’t have that,” Bu Ainnain said.