Kerry: Deal with Iran at no cost to Arab friends

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday reaffirmed his country's commitment to the security of the Arab allies after the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group. In an exclusive interview to Al Arabiya TV channel in Davos, Switzerland, Kerry responded to skepticism in the GCC region and the Arab world relating to the deal which is considered to be not clear enough. "Actually, the deal -- could not be more clear, and we have not left anybody in the dark. We are extremely diligent in working with our friends in the region. I have just made, I don't know, maybe my 14th - 20th trip to the region, many of which were to Israel, Jordan, to the West Bank, to the Palestinian territories," he said. "But sometimes, I've traveled exclusively just to the Emirates or just to Saudi Arabia or to one of the countries in the region. And the reason is because we have been extremely energized in making certain that our friends know exactly what we're doing. "We have briefed all of our friends in the region. We are talking with Iran about a nuclear program, that's all. We are trying to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon which would change the balance of power in the region," Kerry stressed. "What we are doing is profoundly in the interests of our friends in the region. I am absolutely certain beyond a reasonable doubt that Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey - all of the countries in the region are safer today from the threat of an Iranian nuclear weapon than they were before we made the agreement that we made," he stated. "Now, under the agreement we made, Iran has to undo all of its 20 percent enriched uranium. They have to take it to zero. That makes everybody safer. They have to limit their stock of 3.5 percent uranium. That makes people safer. The stock cannot grow," he said. "They have to have inspections every day of Fordow. They have to have inspections every day in Natanz. We didn't have that before we made this agreement. Now, yeah, if they broke out - if they decided they're going to throw this agreement away and go start enrichment again, sure, they can turn around. "But guess what? If they do that, then the military option that is available to the United States is ready and prepared to do what it would have to do. So I don't think that would last very long. I don't think that's a wise choice for Iran. "The fact is that the United States - the President of the United States has made it clear: Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. We have kept all of our friends in the region completely apprised of this. They know exactly what we're doing. We will brief them regularly. We will not make a bad deal. A bad deal is worse than no deal, and we won't do that. "But we are convinced that we are on the right track because clearly - clearly - the world would rather see us settle this peacefully rather than have to have a military confrontation. "And there are other ways in which Iran is engaged in support for terror within the region. We don't agree with that. No, we don't. Nor do our friends. But you have to take one step at a time," Kerry went on. "This is diplomacy, and we are working through the diplomatic process to end a significant threat that, if it isn't ended, could create a confrontation within the region, will certainly see other states seek nuclear weapons, and you would have a far more dangerous Middle East than you have already today. "We are focused on the first step, which is the nuclear program. We are prepared to engage with Iran on the other issues," he added. Asked whether the US would ask Iran to disarm Hezbollah for example, he said: "Absolutely, we believe they should stop supporting Hezbollah completely and totally. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, and they should not support terrorism in the region."