US keeping an eye on Iran’s ‘destabilizing’ acts, Kerry says

The United States is keeping an eye on Iran’s “destabilizing” acts even as the two nations try to reach a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday.

“Even as we engage in these discussions with Iran around this program, we will not take our eye off Iran’s destabilizing actions in the region,” he told reporters in Saudi Arabia, mentioning Syria and Yemen.

Kerry was in Riyadh for a joint meeting with his Saudi counterparts, including Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.

During a joint press conference, Faisal warned of Iran’s growing role in Iraq, accusing the Shiite-dominated Islamic republic of “taking over” its Arab neighbor through its aid in the fight against IS.

“Tikrit is a prime example of what we are worried about. Iran is taking over the country,” Faisal said of the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s hometown.

The US military’s top officer, General Martin Dempsey, said Tuesday that Iran’s help in an Iraqi offensive to recapture Tikrit could be “a positive thing” providing it did not fuel added sectarianism.

Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia is wary of the ambitions of its arch rival across the Gulf.

Meanwhile, Faisal also called on the US-led coalition conducting air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq to fight the jihadists on the ground.

The kingdom, a member of the coalition, “stresses the need to provide the military means needed to face this challenge on the ground,” Faisal said during a press conference with Kerry.

Several Arab countries have joined the air campaign against IS.

President Barack Obama, anxious to avoid a drawn-out ground war, has backed an air campaign but ruled out deploying boots on the ground.