Trump Scraps Iran Strikes After Gulf Allies Urge Diplomacy
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- Trump scrapped what he called "the biggest attack since World War II" on Iran after Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE urged him to give diplomacy more time, marking another reversal just one day after he said he was "losing faith" in negotiations and warned the US military "will be hitting them very hard"
- Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Trump on Saturday that Gulf states would "much prefer a deal as opposed to an attack," warning that escalation could devastate the global economy if Tehran retaliated by targeting Gulf allies
- The tentative deal proposal calls for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, halting attacks by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Jordan, and the US ending its naval blockade to allow Iran to export oil
- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the Strait of Hormuz "will in no way return to the status it was before February 28," though Iran is discussing shipping through the strait with Oman
- Saudi officials privately flagged that Kuwait — unlike Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar — is more vulnerable to attacks by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq
- Iran's Defence Minister said the country was "neither surprised nor passive" and remains alert, while a struggle is reportedly brewing within Iran's theocracy between hardliners opposing any negotiations and factions betting military pressure will deliver gains at the table
Why it matters: Trump's second major turnabout in 24 hours underscores how Gulf state pressure — not battlefield dynamics — is now dictating US escalation calculus. The proposed deal's centerpiece, restoring free transit through the Strait of Hormuz, directly contradicts Tehran's stated red line that the waterway will not return to pre-war status, meaning the negotiations Trump announced could collapse before they begin.
