Middle east allies urge Trump to hold off Iran strike
Several Middle Eastern allies of the United States have urged the Trump administration to hold off on strikes against Iran for the Government’s deadly crackdown on protesters, according to an Arab diplomat familiar with the matter. Top officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have raised concerns in the last 48 hours that a US military intervention would shake the global economy and destabilize an already volatile region, said the diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the sensitive conversations.
Oil prices fell on Thursday as the markets appeared to take note of President Donald Trump’s shifting tone as a sign that he’s leaning away from attacking Iran after days of launching blistering threats at Tehran for its brutal crackdown. Nevertheless, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday maintained that “all options remain on the table” for Trump as he deals with Iran.
“The truth is only President Trump knows what he’s going to do and a very, very small team of advisers are read into his thinking on that,” Leavitt said. She added, “He continues to closely monitor the situation on the ground in Iran.” The nationwide protests challenging Iran’s theocracy appeared increasingly smothered Thursday, a week after authorities shut the country off from the world and escalated a bloody crackdown that activists say has killed at least 2,637 people.
The delicate diplomacy from Arab officials comes during a period of rhetorical whiplash from Trump. Trump, in a matter of a day, went from offering assurances to Iranian citizens that “help is on its way” and urging them to take over their country’s institutions to abruptly declaring on Wednesday that he had received information from “very important sources on the other side” that Iran had stopped killing protesters and was not going forward with executions.
The Arab officials also urged senior Iranian officials to quickly end the violent repression of protesters. They warned that any Iranian response to a US action against the US or other targets in the region would have significant repercussions for Iran, the diplomat said. Asked about reports of allies asking Trump to hold off on the strikes at a White House briefing, Leavitt did not directly address the matter. Ambassador Mike Waltz, the US envoy to the United Nations, said military action is an option that remains in play.
“President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations,” said in remarks at a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the Iran protests. “He has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter.” But Trump himself appeared to send signals he could be backing away from a potential US strike on Iran after days of threatening one was in the offing. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
US warns Iran that all options are on the table in emergency UN meeting
United Nations: After weeks of escalating tension, US and Iranian officials faced each other Thursday at the UN Security Council, where America’s envoy renewed threats against the Islamic Republic despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to lower the temperature between the two adversaries. The US was joined by Iranian dissidents in rebuking the Government’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests that activists say has killed at least 2,637 people.
“Colleagues, let me be clear: President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations,” Mike Waltz, US ambassador to the UN, said in a statement. “He has made it clear that all options are on the table to stop the slaughter. And no one should know that better than the leadership of the Iranian regime.” Waltz’s remarks came as the prospect of US retaliation for the protesters’ deaths still hung over the region, though Trump signaled a possible de-escalation, saying the killing appeared to be ending.
By Thursday, the protests challenging Iran’s theocracy appeared increasingly smothered, but the state-ordered internet and communication blackout remained. The US requested the emergency Security Council meeting and invited two Iranian dissidents, Masih Alinejad and Ahmad Batebi, to open the session with gruesome details of their experience as targets of the Islamic Republic. In a stunning moment, Alinejad addressed the Iranian representative directly. “You have tried to kill me three times. I have seen my would-be assassin with my own eyes in front of my garden, in my home in Brooklyn,” she said while the Iranian official looked directly ahead, without acknowledging her.
