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U.S. Calls to "Raise the Cost to Iran" in Yemen
(National-UAE) Mina al-Oraibi and Joyce Karam - U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Gulf Affairs Tim Lenderking has spent the last three weeks in shuttle regional diplomacy to lay the groundwork for a U.S.-hosted summit in January that would launch the Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA). Lenderking said in an interview on Wednesday that members would include Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, the U.S., Egypt and Jordan. He said the idea of MESA is "it builds a good strong shield against threats in the Gulf," naming Iran as the "number one threat," as well as cyber concerns, attacks on infrastructure, and coordinating conflict management from Syria to Yemen, as part of its agenda. Lenderking said that in Yemen, "Iran is getting away with literally murder. They are aiding and abetting the Houthis in attacking Saudi Arabia and the UAE. This is unacceptable for the U.S.; these are key allies....It's incumbent on all of us to raise the cost to Iran."