Hours before a potential resumption of strikes on Iran, leaders from Qatar, the UAE, and Pakistan called US President Donald Trump in a last-ditch effort to pull him back from the brink — and succeeded, according to two administration officials and a diplomat briefed on the calls, as reported by Politico.
The calls came shortly after Trump posted on Thursday morning that he would hit Iran "VERY HARD TONIGHT."
Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Pakistani defence chief Asim Munir each called Trump to assure him that a preliminary agreement was within reach, Politico reported.
Their assurances that a deal was near led Trump to walk back his attack plans, one of the administration officials told the outlet.
Trump subsequently announced that a deal could be signed as early as the weekend. "We just made a great settlement of the war in Iran and we'll be subject to finalization of documents. We should get done over the next few days," he told reporters in the Oval Office.
Politico reported that Trump had grown increasingly frustrated in recent days, wondering aloud whether Iran was stringing him along. This week, the two sides had already resumed trading strikes after Iran downed an American helicopter, prompting Trump to press Tehran harder for a quick agreement.
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What appears to be on the table is primarily an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the US blockade, with harder discussions over Iran's nuclear programme to follow, Politico said, citing an Israeli official and a person briefed on the diplomacy.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio had told Congress last week that detailed nuclear discussions would take more time.
It is unclear whether Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has formally signed off, US officials told Politico he suffered injuries in the war's opening days and has been operating underground without access to technology, slowing his ability to respond to proposals. "I'll believe it when I see it," one Arab diplomat told the outlet.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, told Trump the final agreement must include removal of enriched material, dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, limits on missile production, and an end to Iran's support for proxy groups, his office said.
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