RIYADH (Dispatches) -- Top U.S. diplomat Rex Tillerson pursued efforts to curb what Western media described as Iran's influence in talks with Persian Gulf allies Sunday, but there was scant hope of a breakthrough in attempts to reconcile Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
As well as talks with senior Saudi officials in Riyadh including King Salman, Tillerson attended a landmark meeting between Saudi Arabia and Iraq "aimed at upgrading strategic ties between the Arab neighbors.”
The meeting appears aimed at boosting Saudi Arabia's clout in Iraq, part of a wider regional battle for influence that extends from Syria to Yemen, AFP said.
Tillerson's visit comes just weeks after President Donald Trump refused to certify the Iran nuclear deal, leaving its fate to the U.S. Congress, and laid out an aggressive new strategy against Tehran in a bellicose speech.
"This event highlights the strength and breadth as well as the great potential of the relations between your countries," Tillerson said at the first meeting of the joint Saudi-Iraqi coordination council in Riyadh.
Following years of tensions with Riyadh, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi hailed the meeting as an "important step toward enhancing relations," while King Salman warned of the dangers of "extremism, terrorism, as well as attempts to destabilize our countries."
However, history, religion and lots of politics stand in the way. Iraq has frequently complained of Saudi Arabia’s support for terrorist groups which have wreaked havoc in the country for years.
Iran has also been at the heart of the diplomatic conflict between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with Tillerson headed to Doha later Sunday for talks on defusing the crisis between two key U.S. allies.
Shortly before leaving Riyadh for Doha, Tillerson told reporters that Iraq had to distance itself from Iran.
"We believe this will in some ways counter some of the unproductive influences of Iran inside of Iraq," he said at a news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir after participating in the inaugural meeting of the Saudi Arabia-Iraq Coordination Council with Salman and Abadi.
Iraqi leaders have repeatedly said if Iran had not rushed weapons and military advisors to the Arab country when the U.S. and its allies refused to help, Baghdad would have fallen to Daesh.
Referring to volunteer militia groups in Iraq, Tillerson said: "Those fighters need to go home. Any foreign fighters need to go home."
He was apparently referring to Hashd al-Sha’abi fighters who are Iraqi and have been key to Iraq’s capture of many villages, towns and cities from Daesh.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut ties with Qatar and imposed an embargo in June, accusing it of supporting terrorism and cozying up to Iran.
Doha denies the charges and has rejected their terms for a settlement.
Tillerson made an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the dispute during a trip to the region in July.
Trump, after initially appearing to support the effort to isolate Qatar, has called for mediation and recently predicted a rapid end to the crisis.
But before he arrived at Riyadh's King Salman air base on Saturday, Tillerson indicated there had been little progress.
"I do not have a lot of expectations for it being resolved anytime soon," he said in an interview with financial news agency Bloomberg. "There seems to be a real unwillingness on the part of some of the parties to want to engage."
Aside from the Persian Gulf dispute and Iran, the conflict in Yemen and counter-terrorism will also figure in his talks, the State Department said.
On the Persian Gulf crisis, the goal will be to try to persuade the two sides to at least open a dialogue.
Simon Henderson, a veteran of the region now at the Washington Institute of Near East Policy, said the disputing parties do not want to lose face.
"Tillerson will say: 'Come on kids, grow up and wind down your absurd demands. And let's work on a compromise on your basic differences'," he said.
Kuwait has tried to serve as a mediator, with U.S. support, but the parties have yet to sit down face-to-face.
During his trip Tillerson is also to visit New Delhi in order to build what he said in a recent speech could be a 100-year "strategic partnership" with India.
Tillerson will stop in Islamabad to try to sooth Pakistani fears about this Indian outreach, but also pressure the government to crack down harder on militant groups, AFP reported.