Officials from the Gulf states are expected to meet President Trump on Tuesday and press him to pursue diplomacy with Iran rather than risk a new escalation, according to a report.
Representatives of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council are scheduled to hold talks with Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Bloomberg reported. The discussions are expected to focus on the continuing conflict involving Iran.
The GCC includes important US partners such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The countries are seeking a path to end a war that has shaken the Persian Gulf economy and brought instability through Iranian missile and drone attacks.
Trump has recently renewed warnings that Iran could face destruction. Tehran, meanwhile, has refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless the United States agrees to its demands.
Iran has threatened broad attacks against US forces and American allies across the region if hostilities intensify. Gulf governments fear that vital infrastructure in their countries could become targets in any renewed fighting.
The Gulf nations initially urged Trump not to launch the war against Iran. They have also previously managed to influence the president’s approach, pushing him toward negotiations instead of military action.
Trump said he abandoned plans for a major strike on Iran last month after Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar told him that an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz appeared close.
That agreement ultimately failed to materialize, and the conflict has spread to Yemen. There, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have seized control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a strategically important oil route near the Arabian Peninsula.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned that the country is ready for a “long war,” while also signaling that negotiations remain possible as US sanctions and soaring inflation continue to damage the Iranian economy.
“If our national interests require us to fight, we must fight,” an IRGC spokesman said Tuesday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. “If our national interests require us to negotiate alongside the war, we must negotiate.”
Trump’s intentions remain uncertain. However, he said over the weekend that he could potentially meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in New York during this week’s UN General Assembly.
