Washington: Saudi Arabia's new king won't attend this week's long-planned summit for Persian Gulf countries at the US presidential retreat in what may be a sign of frustration with Washington over its Iran policy.

King Salman's decision to stay home comes as President Barack Obama's administration tries to restore the flagging confidence of Gulf Arab leaders in US leadership.

Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef will attend a US summit instead of the Saudi king. Credit:Reuters

The Saudi king was expected to meet President Obama on Wednesday at the White House "to build on their close consultations" on a range of issues and then attend the summit at Camp David in Maryland on Thursday, White House spokesman Eric Schultz said on Friday.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir instead issued a statement on Sunday, saying the king would not visit "due to the timing of the summit, the scheduled humanitarian ceasefire in Yemen and the opening of the King Salman Centre for Humanitarian Aid".