Hillary Clinton promotes missile shield to protect Gulf states from Iran

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday promoted a missile shield to protect Gulf Arab states from Tehran and sought to work with them to help end the violence in Iran's ally Syria.

In a speech to a first multilateral Gulf-US security forum, Clinton stressed Washington's "rock solid and unwavering" commitment to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, all longstanding US allies.

The Sunni Muslim-led Gulf Arab states are extremely wary of non-Arab Shiite Muslim Iran.

In her prepared remarks, Clinton highlighted US concerns about Iran and talks with Gulf Arab foreign ministers ahead of a broader international meeting in Istanbul aimed at ending President Bashar al Assad's crackdown in Syria.

Raising security ties from a bilateral to a multilateral level, Clinton is breaking new ground in taking part in the first strategic cooperation forum between Washington and the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

She looked to taking "practical and specific steps to strengthen our mutual security, such as helping our militaries improve interoperability, cooperate on maritime security and missile defense, and coordinate responses to crises."

US officials have said it is a US "priority" to help the GCC build a "regional missile defense architecture" against what they see as a looming ballistic missile threat from Iran.

Clinton said she looked "forward to discussing the wide range of common strategic concerns, including preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and curbing its interference in the affairs of its neighbors."

Western countries fear Iran's uranium enrichment program conceals plans to build a nuclear bomb, but Tehran insists it is only for peaceful purposes.

US Central Command chief General James Mattis has meanwhile warned that Iran was sending support, including "weapons, not just money" to Huthi rebels in northern Yemen, and trying to "influence the non-Huthi tribes! " as wel l.

Yemen neighbors the six Gulf states.

The US also suspects Iran is sending arms to Assad's regime to help him crush a pro-democracy movement that UN officials estimate has cost more than 9,000 lives since it erupted in March last year.

Clinton looked forward to talks with the GCC on "ending the bloodshed in Syria and supporting the peaceful transitions underway in North Africa and across the region, and fully integrating Iraq into regional affairs."