US Military Official: Qatar and Kuwait will Join the Maritime Coalition Led by Washington

"Qatar and Kuwait have already told us that they will be involved, so it is only a matter of time," he said, noting that the two countries were expected to provide personnel and patrol boats, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, John Conklin, told Reuters.

Conklin made the remarks during a trip to the Middle East by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milli, who arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

He said the United States had held talks with Canada on joining the initiative, while the alliance had so far received only a tepid response and only Albania, Australia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Britain had joined.

France, on the other hand, is leading a European-led mission independent of the Washington-led naval initiative. "As far as I know, no one has joined the French alliance. They have been trying for a while but have not been successful," Conklin said.