Special to WorldTribune.com

On the same day President Barack Obama promised Persian Gulf States leaders the U.S. would protect their security, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy again fired at a commercial ship.

In a May 14 summit at Camp David in which only two Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) heads of state attended, Obama sought to assuage the nations’ fears, saying the U.S. has an “ironclad commitment” to their security which includes the possible use of military force. Obama continued to stress, though, that the GCC nations were not being put further at risk by the nuclear deal with Iran.

As the summit ended, Obama said the U.S. will step up its security cooperation with Gulf states on counterterrorism, cybersecurity, missile defense and maritime security.

Meanwhile, Iranian forces on May 14 fired warning shots at a Singapore tanker named Alpine Eternity that was said transiting either the Persian Gulf or Strait of Hormuz, The Washington Examiner reported.

It was the second such incident in two weeks. On May 1, Iran fired on a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel named Maersk Tigris.

The Examiner report said Iran signaled the Singapore vessel and then fired when the tanker did not respond. Iranian vessels fired a second time as Alpine Eternity headed for UAE territorial waters and contacted UAE authorities. The Iranian ships finally retreated when UAE coastal patrol vessels responded.

The May 14 incident coincided with Iran’s effort to dock its cargo ship, Shahed, in Yemen despite U.S. warnings against such a move. Last week, Iranian ships failed to reach Yemen to deliver what Teheran said were humanitarian supplies to Houthi rebels.

At the conclusion of Obama’s Camp David summit, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said it was still unclear if the Iran nuclear deal would be acceptable to Gulf states.

“We don’t know if the Iranians will accept the terms they need to accept,” al-Jubeir said.

While he said he understood the concerns of Gulf states over the deal, Obama stressed that it was his belief Iran would focus more on improving an economy that was hit hard by sanctions that would be lifted under the framework agreement.

Saudi Arabia was represented by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with officials from both the White House and Riyadh insisting King Salman’s absence was not a snub of Obama.

Saudi officials, however, have warned that they may seek to match Iran’s nuclear arsenal, The New York Times reported on May 14.

“Whatever the Iranians have, we will have, too,” former Saudi intelligence head Prince Turki bin Faisal said, adding that the Iran nuclear deal “opens the door to nuclear proliferation, not closes it, as was the initial intention.”

Other Arab countries echoed Saudi’s warning, insisting they will also pursue nuclear weapons.

“We can’t sit back and be nowhere as Iran is allowed to retain much of its capability and amass its research,” a GCC leader at the Camp David summit told The New York Times.

  As Obama pledges ‘ironclad commitment’ to Gulf nations, Camp David, GCC summit, Iran fires at another ship, IRGC navy