Kerry Cites Arms Transfer, Says U.S. Concerned about Iran-Hizbullah Ties

Secretary of State John Kerry shied away on Saturday from making a blunt criticism of Iran but stressed that the U.S. shares concerns about Iran's behavior, including its support for Hizbullah.

"The United States remains concerned about some of the activities that Iran is engaged in other countries," Kerry told reporters in Riyadh, citing as an example Iran's "support for terrorist groups like Hizbullah.”

Washington considers Hizbullah a terrorist organization.

Kerry also said most of Hizbullah’s arms come from Iran through Syria and that the party has about 80,000 missiles.

Kerry met with foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council in an attempt to ease their concerns about warming U.S.-Iranian ties.

The talks also aimed at seeking consensus on which Syrian opposition groups should be represented at upcoming peace talks.

Kerry said the U.S. will act against Iran when necessary, including imposing new sanctions as it did last week in response to Iranian ballistic missile tests.

Shiite-led Iran and Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia are longtime regional rivals who support opposite sides in the wars in Syria and Yemen. Relations plunged to a new low when Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite opposition cleric earlier this month, drawing outrage from Shiites across the region and igniting mob attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.

Saudi Arabia and some of its allies responded to those attacks by cutting diplomatic ties with Tehran, and accusing Tehran of being behind numerous terrorist attacks around the world over the past three decades.