Many Gulf heads of state have said they will not attend the summit of US and allied Arab leaders at Camp David later this week.
Their substitution with more junior leaders is being seen as a rebuff to President Obama's negotiations with Iran over its nuclear ambitions.
King Salman of Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that he would not attend.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Saudi Arabia has not raised concerns about anything on the summit agenda.
The talks in Camp David near Washington were designed to reassure the Arab allies of US support on a number of issues including talks with Iran and instability in several Arab states.
They will now be largely attended by leaders at the ministerial level.
The official reason for the Saudi leader's absence is that the summit coincides with a humanitarian cease-fire in Yemen, where a Saudi-led alliance is battling Shiite Houthi rebels.
At Saudi Arabia's embassy in Washington, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters the move was not related to any disagreement.
But diplomatic experts say it is a clear signal of Saudi displeasure with the US president and his negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.
"I don't think they have a deep respect, a deep trust for Obama and his promises. There is a fundamental difference between his vision of post-nuclear-deal Iran and their vision," Abdulkhaleq Abdullah, a professor of political science at Emirates University told the Associated press news agency.
"They think Iran is a destabilising force and will remain so, probably even more, if the sanctions are lifted."
President Obama had planned to meet with the Saudi King Salman on Wednesday
The BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner, said King Salman has never quite forgiven President Obama for cancelling the missile strikes on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the 11th hour in September of 2013, when King Salman was defence minister.
Separately, the tiny island kingdom of Bahrain, whose leadership has close ties to the Saudis, said that it would be sending its crown prince, Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, to the meeting.
A source familiar with the talks told the BBC that the Sultan of Oman and the President of the United Arab Emirates are both known to be very ill, and do not travel for non-medical purposes - and were not expected to attend.
The US Navy's 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain, and serves as the US's main maritime counterbalance to Iran
The Kuwaiti emir, Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, will attend the summit and has already arrived in the Washington area.
Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, is expected to attend as well.
Saudi King Salman, who came to power in January, has not travelled outside of Saudi Arabia since assuming the throne.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32694184
Their substitution with more junior leaders is being seen as a rebuff to President Obama's negotiations with Iran over its nuclear ambitions.
King Salman of Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that he would not attend.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Saudi Arabia has not raised concerns about anything on the summit agenda.
The talks in Camp David near Washington were designed to reassure the Arab allies of US support on a number of issues including talks with Iran and instability in several Arab states.
They will now be largely attended by leaders at the ministerial level.
The official reason for the Saudi leader's absence is that the summit coincides with a humanitarian cease-fire in Yemen, where a Saudi-led alliance is battling Shiite Houthi rebels.
At Saudi Arabia's embassy in Washington, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters the move was not related to any disagreement.
But diplomatic experts say it is a clear signal of Saudi displeasure with the US president and his negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.
"I don't think they have a deep respect, a deep trust for Obama and his promises. There is a fundamental difference between his vision of post-nuclear-deal Iran and their vision," Abdulkhaleq Abdullah, a professor of political science at Emirates University told the Associated press news agency.
"They think Iran is a destabilising force and will remain so, probably even more, if the sanctions are lifted."
President Obama had planned to meet with the Saudi King Salman on Wednesday
The BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner, said King Salman has never quite forgiven President Obama for cancelling the missile strikes on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the 11th hour in September of 2013, when King Salman was defence minister.
Separately, the tiny island kingdom of Bahrain, whose leadership has close ties to the Saudis, said that it would be sending its crown prince, Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, to the meeting.
A source familiar with the talks told the BBC that the Sultan of Oman and the President of the United Arab Emirates are both known to be very ill, and do not travel for non-medical purposes - and were not expected to attend.
The US Navy's 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain, and serves as the US's main maritime counterbalance to Iran
The Kuwaiti emir, Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, will attend the summit and has already arrived in the Washington area.
Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, is expected to attend as well.
Saudi King Salman, who came to power in January, has not travelled outside of Saudi Arabia since assuming the throne.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32694184
