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As tensions escalate between the United States and Iran, key Middle Eastern allies are once again advocating for moderation, urging both nations to exercise caution. The Trump administration has signaled a potential military strike while reinforcing its regional military presence, sparking concerns among U.S. allies. A knowledgeable Arab diplomat has confirmed these developments, choosing to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the diplomatic exchanges.
Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Oman, and Qatar are actively engaging with both Washington and Tehran. Their central message is that any escalation could lead to significant destabilization across the Middle East, with far-reaching impacts on global energy markets. These nations are emphasizing that the consequences of increased hostilities would be profound and widespread.
There is a palpable fear among Arab and Muslim states that a U.S. offensive against Iran might provoke retaliatory actions from Tehran. Such responses could be directed at these countries or at American assets within their borders, potentially resulting in unintended collateral damage, as noted by the diplomat.
Saudi Arabia’s defense minister, Khalid bin Salman, highlighted these concerns in a recent social media post. He shared that he had engaged in discussions in Washington with key figures such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, focusing on efforts to promote regional and global peace and stability.
The backdrop to these diplomatic efforts is President Trump’s evolving justification for possible military action against Iran. Initially framing it as a response to Iran’s harsh crackdown on protestors, Trump has shifted his emphasis toward curtailing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, even as he claims U.S. strikes in June had already “obliterated” Iranian nuclear facilities.
Trump says he wants to make a deal
Trump on Friday said he hoped to make a deal with Iran but told reporters: “If we don’t make a deal, we’ll see what happens.”
He was cryptic when asked if he had given Iran a deadline, saying, “Only they know for sure.” He affirmed that he had communicated his threats to the country’s officials directly but did not offer any details.
Trump’s return to the nuclear issue should not necessarily be considered a shift in tactics, but rather part of a broader approach toward dealing with Iran and the threat the U.S. believes it poses to its people and the region, according to two administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the president’s thinking.
One of the officials said Trump had initially focused on the protests inside Iran as a way of both encouraging demonstrators who might at some point force a change in Iranian policies and warning Tehran of consequences for mistreating them.
Trump said Friday that Iran heeded his earlier warnings about holding off from executing protesters, which he said he appreciated, but then acknowledged, “A lot of people are being killed.”
At the same time, Iran’s nuclear threat has remained the larger concern for both the U.S. and the region, particularly Israel. The official said it made sense to Trump to remind Iran’s leadership that the ultimate goal is to eliminate that threat.
“Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal — NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS — one that is good for all parties,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform this week. “Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!”
A senior administration official stressed that Trump “has all options at his disposal.” That official did not offer details about whether the White House had any indications that Iran was taking steps to rebuild its nuclear program.
Iran says it’s ready for talks but also ‘ready for war’
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday while meeting Turkish officials in Istanbul that his country is ready for dialogue to resolve tensions but that there are no concrete plans for talks with his U.S. counterparts.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, just as it is ready for negotiations, it is also ready for war,” he added.
Ankara has been working to reduce the tensions, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offering during a telephone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier Friday to act as a “facilitator” between Iran and the U.S., according to his office.
Trump backed down from ordering any strikes earlier this month after telling Iranians to keep protesting and that “help is on the way,” saying he had received assurances Iran would not execute some 800 protesters.
Nationwide protests in Iran began in late December against economic woes but broadened into a challenge to the Islamic Republic’s theocracy. Activists say the government’s crackdown has killed at least 6,540 people.
Trump, meanwhile, repeatedly has touted a “massive armada” of U.S. warships in the region. The U.S. military has bolstered its presence with the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers, which brought thousands of additional service members to join other destroyers and ships in the Middle East.
U.S. Central Command urged Iran to avoid “unnecessary risk to freedom of navigation” during a planned live-fire exercise starting Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway where 20% of the world’s oil passes.
The command noted that it would not tolerate “unsafe” actions from Iran, including flying over U.S. military ships engaged in flight operations, high-speed boat approaches or weapons pointed at American forces.
The Arab official said the region’s message to the U.S. is that it should proceed with extreme caution, mindful of the havoc that could ensue. The message to Iran is that if the U.S. does strike, it should carefully calibrate how it responds and not take action that would affect its neighbors, the official said.
U.S. assets in Qatar, for instance, were the target of Iranian retaliation after Trump’s airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last year.
The official added that ideally nothing would come to pass other than a period of extreme anxiety but said the situation was unpredictable and that no one other than Trump knows if an attack would be coming.
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