Last Updated:
The three nations intervened shortly after Trump warned that Tehran could be hit “very hard tonight”, triggering a flurry of diplomatic outreach from regional leaders.
US President Donald Trump
US-Iran War: After warning to hit Iran “very hard” amid escalating tensions in West Asia, US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) claimed that an initial agreement aimed at ending the war with Iran is close after announcing that he had cancelled strikes on the country.
“We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran,” he told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday.
However, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan played a key role in persuading the US President to step back from plans for an immediate military strike on Iran, Politico reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.
As per the report, the three nations intervened shortly after Trump warned that Tehran could be hit “very hard tonight”, triggering a flurry of diplomatic outreach from regional leaders.
According to Politico, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir personally spoke with Trump and urged him not to take immediate military action against Tehran.
The leaders reportedly assured Trump that a preliminary agreement with Iran was close and that further negotiations could produce a breakthrough, the report said.
Acoording to one of the officials, three countries were able to influence the discussions because of their channels of communication with Tehran and their perceived influence over Iran’s leadership. The assurance that a deal was near convince Trump to pull back from attack plans and instead pursue a diplomatic opening.
Soon after the conversations, Trump announced that an agreement with Iran could be reached as early as this weekend.
“We just made a great settlement of the war in Iran and we’ll be subject to finalisation of documents,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office later Thursday. “We should get done over the next few days.”
However, Iran appeared more cautious. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that negotiations remain unresolved despite repeated claims from US President Donald Trump that a breakthrough is close.
Speaking by phone on Iranian state television, Esmail Baghaei described reports of a completed agreement as speculative and stressed that Tehran has not yet reached a final decision on any proposed deal.
About the Author
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degre…Read More
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
Read More
