US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Jordan on Monday as part of his visit to three Middle Eastern countries to reinforce partnerships with the regional states.
Austin arrived on Sunday in Amman and is scheduled to later visit Egypt and Israel.
“The enduring and strategic partnership between the United States and Jordan is strong. While here, I look forward to collaborating on shared interests that will deliver positive outcomes for both nations,” he said in a tweet.
He wrote on Twitter before his departure that he would meet key leaders and "reaffirm the US commitment to regional stability and advancing the shared interests of our allies and partners."
The US Defense Department said ahead of the visit that discussions would focus on the growing threat Iran poses to regional stability, and on advancing multilateral security cooperation with integrated air and missile defenses, Reuters reported.
Central to discussion will be the "full constellation of Iran-associated threats," a senior defense official was quoted as saying on the Pentagon's official site ahead of the visit.
"Those threats include Iran's arming, training, and funding of violent proxy groups, aggression at sea, cyber threats, its ballistic missile program, and drone attacks," he added.
"Secretary Austin will convey enduring US commitment to the Middle East and provide reassurance to our partners that the United States remains committed to supporting their defense and increasing and strengthening the strategic partnerships with each of these countries," said US officials.
"He (Austin) will also be quite frank with Israeli leaders about his concerns regarding the cycle of violence in the West Bank and consult on what steps Israeli leaders can take to meaningfully restore calm before the upcoming holidays," Reuters quoted the American officials as saying.
Tarek Fahmy, a political science professor at Cairo University, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the visit is part of Washington’s keenness on communicating with its allies on the latest developments, mainly on Iran.
Fahmy said that the talks would cover the security arrangements in the region and the American attempts to form a regional alliance, which were showcased at the US-Saudi Summit but faced some reservations.
Gamal Bayoumi, the former assistant foreign minister of Egypt, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Washington seeks to form an Arab coalition against Iran. Some Arab countries have reservations about this step and consider Israel the main enemy in the region.
The Jeddah Security and Development Summit was held in July in Saudi Arabia.
The leaders taking part in the Summit stressed their joint vision for a peaceful and prosperous Middle East.
They stressed the need to jointly confront challenges and commit to principles of good neighborliness, mutual respect, the sovereignty of others, and regional security.
News had circulated ahead of the Summit about an American proposal to form an “Arab NATO” to face Iran. But the proposal “wasn’t widely welcomed” during the Summit.
