Yemen Monitor/Agencies/Associated Press:
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he urgently wants “to reach an agreement” with Iran to curtail its nuclear program, but Tehran must end its support for proxy groups across the Middle East as part of any potential deal.
Trump, who is on a three-nation tour of the region, discussed Iran’s accelerating nuclear program in bilateral talks with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The US president expressed cautious confidence that US efforts with Tehran “will succeed one way or another.”
However, in remarks earlier in the day, during a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Trump made it clear that he expects Tehran to end its role as the largest financial supporter of armed groups.
Trump told GCC leaders: “Iran must stop sponsoring terrorism, stop its bloody proxy wars, and permanently and verifiably end its pursuit of nuclear weapons. They cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Al Thani did not directly address the Iranian issue after his meeting with Trump in Doha. But the Emir said that US-Qatari cooperation on a wide range of issues is elevating their partnership to “a new level of relations.”
The two leaders and members of their delegations signed a series of agreements, including one between US company Boeing and Qatar Airways. The White House said the deal was worth $96 billion.
The US and Iran have held four rounds of talks since early last month, and Trump said he believes a nuclear deal is possible, but warned that the time window is narrowing.
The Republican president’s latest efforts to pressure Iran to stop its support for Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen come at a time when its network of proxies has faced significant setbacks since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, 19 months ago.
