US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Gulf leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next Tuesday to discuss the next steps in the war with Iran, Axios reported, citing three sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
The meeting is expected to focus on US ideas for a postwar strategy, with Trump and his senior team working on a "day-after" plan that is expected to be finalised only after November's midterm elections, according to the report.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also wants to meet Trump in New York, though no such meeting has yet been scheduled, an Israeli source told Axios.
The planned talks echo last year's UN General Assembly, when Trump met leaders from eight Arab and Muslim countries and presented them with a draft Gaza peace plan, going public with it a week later. A deal to end that war followed shortly afterwards.
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Gulf states hosting US military bases bore the brunt of Iranian retaliatory attacks during the war and suffered significant economic losses from disruptions to oil and natural gas exports, Axios noted.
Trump said on Wednesday that he hoped the war was nearing its end, repeating his claim that Iran wants to reach a deal and that Washington has heard as much directly from Tehran.
According to Axios' sources, Trump is expected to meet leaders or foreign ministers from all six Gulf Cooperation Council members — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. The White House declined to comment on the report.
The State Department sent out initial invitations for the meeting on Wednesday, and one source said the gathering could later expand to include other Arab and Muslim leaders, mirroring the broader coalition Trump assembled for last year's Gaza initiative.
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