The Obama administration is seeking to advance talks among Saudi Arabia and its neighbors on a missile defense system against Iran, while slowing any plans among Arab Gulf states to intervene militarily in Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met for almost two hours with Saudi King Abdullah on Friday, conferring on regional military strategy and how to increase oil sanctions against Iran while ensuring ample global petroleum supplies. Governments are under pressure to reduce purchases of Iranian crude, and the U.S. hopes Saudi supplies can ease the transition.

The talks are occurring amid increased international concern over Iran’s uranium enrichment activity and speculation that military action by the U.S. or Israel may occur. The U.S., Israel and some Arab countries accuse Iran of trying to build nuclear weapons, but the Islamic republic insists its program is solely for peaceful energy and research purposes.

In Washington, President Barack Obama said Friday he was plowing ahead with potential sanctions against countries that keep buying oil from Iran, including U.S. allies, in the deepening campaign to starve Iran of money for its nuclear program. The world oil market is tight but deep enough to keep the squeeze on Iran, Obama said.

U.S. officials didn’t provide all the details of Clinton’s meeting with Abdullah, which included an hour when the two spoke privately without any aides present. They expressed a shared commitment to a stable international oil market, senior State Department officials said, outlining the discussions on condition of anonymity.