U.S. President Barack Obama hosts a working session of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at Camp David in Maryland May 14, 2015.

President Barack Obama and leaders from six Gulf nations gathered at Camp David on Thursday in an effort to work through tensions sparked by the U.S. bid for a nuclear deal with Iran.

Obama is seeking to reassure the Gulf leaders that his country’s overtures to Iran will not come at the expense of commitments to their security.

On the sidelines of the summit, a White House spokesperson said that the White House was open to the idea of granting its Gulf Cooperation Council partners major non-NATO ally status.

But talks at the Camp David summit have been focused more on public assurances about help the U.S. can provide with security, Ben Rhodes said.

Obama is expected to offer Guld leaders more military assistance, including increased joint exercises and coordination on ballistic missile systems.

Obama and the leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain opened their talks with a private dinner Wednesday night at the White House.

Just two heads of state are among those meeting Obama, with other nations sending lower-level but still influential representatives.

The most notable absence is Saudi King Salman. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced that the king was skipping the summit, just two days after the White House said he was coming.

The Saudi king isn’t the only head of state sending a lower-level representative to the summit. The heads of the United Arab Emirates and Oman have had health problems and were not making the trip.

Bahrain’s royal court announced Wednesday that rather than travel to Washington, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa would be attending a horse show and meeting with Queen Elizabeth II.

The Gulf summit comes as the U.S. and five other nations work to reach an agreement with Iran by the end of June to curb its nuclear efforts in exchange for relief from international economic sanctions. The Gulf nations fear that an easing of sanctions will only facilitate what they see as Iran’s aggression.

The White House says a nuclear accord could clear the way for more productive discussions with Iran about its reputed terror links.

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