Trump: Qatar, Saudi Want Peaceful Iran Deal
Trump: Qatar, Saudi Want Peaceful Iran Deal
US President Donald Trump has said Qatar and Saudi Arabia both want a peaceful solution to the war with Iran, while stressing that the United States remains ready to resume military strikes if diplomacy fails. Trump made the remarks to Reuters on Monday, November 9, after meeting Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House.
“Qatar would rather see a peaceful solution” and “Saudi Arabia would rather see a peaceful solution,” Trump said, adding that the US was “ready to go anytime we want” with strikes. He also signalled he was in no rush to return to bombing, saying he was content for now with the American naval blockade against Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Qatar meeting
The Qatari prime minister, who is also his country’s foreign minister, met Trump in a closed-door session at the White House on Monday, and Vice President JD Vance also held a separate meeting with him. Qatar has been a central mediator since the early days of the war, carrying messages between Washington and Tehran and proposing ways to bridge their differences. Sheikh Mohammed visited Tehran last week before travelling to Washington.
The meeting came as efforts to end the conflict gathered pace after last week’s US midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of both houses of Congress. Trump has faced growing calls, including from within his own party, to wind down the war, which began on February 28 and has now run for more than eight months with no victory in sight.
What Iran is offering — and why the US says no
Iran’s proposal to end the war involves an end to the US blockade of its ports, the lifting of some sanctions and a halt to bombing, in return for Tehran stopping its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, with talks on its nuclear programme and other sanctions to follow. Iranian officials have said the plan could be condensed into a two-day timeframe.
Washington has repeatedly rejected that offer. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that negotiations had made little progress and that he saw no imminent breakthrough, describing Tehran’s conditions as “outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei defended the plan on Monday as the most reasonable offer on the table.
Strikes continue while talks stall
Despite the diplomatic activity, mutual attacks have continued. The US struck Iran’s Qeshm island overnight, according to Iranian state media, and both sides have reported attacks on shipping in or near the Strait of Hormuz. Trump told CNN on Sunday that it was “highly unlikely” he would order new strikes as long as negotiations made progress and produced a strong agreement, but he warned that the United States had identified additional infrastructure targets, including bridges, if military action resumed.
Trump met the Qatari prime minister as efforts to end the Iran war ramped up, with senior US and Gulf officials casting doubt on the chances of an imminent deal. The wider regional picture also remains tense after Pakistan condemned the Houthi attack on an Aramco building in Riyadh and demanded the group halt all attacks on Saudi Arabia.
What happens next
For now, the pattern is familiar: public talk of peace from both sides, no agreement on the terms, and military pressure continuing in the background. Trump’s message after the Qatar meeting keeps both doors open — a peaceful deal if Tehran accepts American terms, and renewed strikes if it does not. Whether the Qatari mediation can close that gap in the coming days will decide if the war moves towards an end or grinds on into its ninth month.
Source: Reuters, The National, Khaleej Times.