President Trump Wednesday Telling Gulf leaders he was eager to "reach an agreement" with Iran to stop its nuclear program, but Tehran must end support for agent groups across the region as part of any potential agreement.
Iran "must stop sponsoring terror, stop its bloody proxy war, and permanently and reliably stop its pursuit of nuclear weapons," Trump said at a meeting of leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council chaired by the Saudi capital, Mohammed Bin Salman. "They can't have nuclear weapons."
Since the beginning of last month, the United States and Iran have held four rounds of negotiations, focusing on Iran's nuclear program. Mr. Trump has repeatedly said he believes brokerage trading is possible, but the windows are closing.
The president's strong wording of Iran to stop support for Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hotis of Yemen Since the Hamas-led militants launched the attack on October 7, 2023, its proxy network has faced major setbacks in 19 months, attacking Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. 251 people were taken hostage Back to Gaza. Some of these hostages have been killed or released as part of the deal, but Hamas still has about 58 hostages.
In Iran, Foreign Secretary Abbas Araghchi called Trump's remarks "deceptive" but did not directly address his appeal to Iran to stop supporting the agency group.
Later, while speaking with reporters from Air Force One, Mr. Trump urged Iran to “make the right decision on its nuclear program” because some things will happen one way or another. ”
"So we either do this kind of friendly or we will be very unfriendly," Mr. Trump warned. "That won't be pleasant."
Mr. Trump said he believes the moment is ripe and that "the future of the future is free from the grip of Hezbollah terrorists". After last year's war, Hezbollah was severely weakened in Israel, with most of its leadership killed and losing key allies after its fall with former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a channel for Iran to send weapons.
Energy Minister Chris Wright told CBS News “Weijia Jiang is expecting a deal with Iran by the end of this year, calling it “a very positive dialogue on all my travels in the Middle East.”
"I think sometime later this year, hopefully, hopefully, much earlier than the second half of this year, and we'll see a huge breakthrough in Iran," Wright said. "Look, it's a win, a victory. Iran has agreed to give up its nuclear program altogether. They can trade, they can interact with the rest of the world. They can lower inflation. They can bring investment, make society better, and the rest can thrive, and if it's constantly threatened by Iran's core agents, it's a threat to Iran or a distant realm.
Mr. Trump's comment on Iran He met with Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa on WednesdayIt was a face-to-face interaction with a former rebel leader who was imprisoned by the U.S. military for several years after being captured in Iraq.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a reading of the two leaders' meeting in Saudi Arabia that Mr. Trump had told Syrian leaders that "he has a great opportunity to do historic things in his country" and urged him to join Saudi Arabia to sign the U.S. signing with the Israelis for Abraham Accorps.
Mr. Trump agreed to meet al-Sharaa at the end of his stay in Saudi Arabia. The president then traveled to Qatar, where he received a state visit. His Middle East tour also brought him to the United Arab Emirates later this week.
Al-Sharaa was appointed Syrian president in January, a month after a stunning offensive by the rebel group led by Al-Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), attacked Damascus and ended the 54-year rule of the Assad family.
Mr Trump said he decided to meet Al-Sharaa with encouragement from Prince Mohammed and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The president also pledged to lift years of sanctions on Syria.
Mr. Trump told reporters that the meeting with al-Sharaa became "awesome" and described him as a "young, attractive person" with a "very strong past."
"He really put it together," Mr. Trump said.
Prince Mohammed joined Trump and al-Sharaa for a 33-minute meeting. Erdogan also participated in the talks through video conferences.
The prince said Mr. Trump's decision to interact with al-Sharaa and lift sanctions would "ease the suffering of the Syrian people" and stimulate the country's "new chapter".
Al-Sharaa, formerly known for Nom de Guerre Abu Mohammed Al-Golani, joined the ranks of Al-Qaeda rebels after the U.S.-led invasion. He still faces a warrant for being arrested for being arrested in Iraq. The United States once provided US$10 million in information to the United States due to his link to al-Qaeda.
After the conflict began in 2011, Al-Sharaa returned to his native Syria and led the Al Qaeda branch known as Nusra Front. He changed the name of his group to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and truncated contact with Al Qaeda.
U.S. sanctions can be traced back to Assad's rule, who was ousted in December and aimed at causing significant pain to the Syrian economy.
Biden and the Trump administration both left the sanctions after Assad fell, trying to take al-sharaa measures.
After meeting with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates), Mr. Trump flew to Qatar, his second stop on the Middle East Tour.
Just like the Saudis a day ago, Qatar launched the red carpet for Trump. Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Al Thani greeted Trump at the airport, and Air Force One was escorted by a Katari F-15 jet while approaching the capital Doha.
When he sat down to meet with Emir of the Royal Court, Mr. Trump said he was impressed by the camels who attended his big ceremony.
Al Thani said he had high hopes for Mr. Trump's efforts to end the ordeal of Gaza.
"I know you're a peaceful person," he said. "I know you want to bring peace to this area."
Qatar, like other Arab Gulf, is an authoritarian country with political parties banned and strictly controlled. It is supervised by the Emir (Emir) Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. Sheikh Tamim resigned in June 2013 when his father resigned.
Qatar is also linked to several highly-anticipated paid scandals around the world.
Two EU lawmakers are accused of making money from Doha in a scandal called "Qatargate". U.S. attorneys accused Qatar of bribing FIFA executive committee members in 2022 to secure the country's game in 2022.
In 2024, defense contractor RTX Corp. formerly known as Raytheon, agreed to pay more than $950 million in fees to resolve the allegation that deceived the U.S. government and paid a bribe to secure business with Qatar companies. Doha always denies any misconduct.
Qatar has also served as a key mediator, especially in the radical terrorist group Hamas, where the international community pursues a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Qatar also served as the host of negotiations between the United States and the Taliban, which led to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Katar is home to the Al-udeid Air Base, a sprawling facility responsible for the front headquarters of the U.S. Military Central Command.
Rich countries are also at the center of controversy Proposal to Mr. Trump A luxurious 400 million Boeing 747-8 is used as Air Force One. The president said the plane was a "a gift from the United States to the US Air Force/Defense" and not him.
The Katari government said no final decision has been made. But Trump defended the idea, even as critics believe it would constitute a surprisingly valuable gift from the president to accept foreign governments.
Mr. Trump said that after leaving the office, the plane will live in his library and will not be used.