Kerry says US will not allow attacks on Mideast friends, says differences on Syria minor

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Cairo, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013. Kerry is in Cairo pressing for reforms during the highest-level American visit to Egypt since the ouster of the country's first democratically elected president. The Egyptian military's removal of Mohammed Morsi in July led the U.S. to suspend hundreds of millions of dollars in aid. This is the first stop in an 11-day trip that will take Kerry to the Mideast and Europe. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool) (The Associated Press)

CAIRO – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is reassuring America's Arab allies that the United States will not allow them to be attacked "from outside" — that's an apparent warning to Iran.

Kerry says the U.S. will stand with its partners. He's specifically mentioning Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt as countries the U.S. will defend.

America's top diplomat says the U.S.

Kerry spoke Sunday in Egypt as he began a visit to the Middle East, Europe and North Africa.

Kerry also played down U.S. divisions with Gulf nations over Syria.

He said some countries differ with U.S. tactics in Syria. But he said they agree on the goal of ending the fighting and forming an interim government.