Regional Diplomacy Appears to Stop Trump’s Planned Strike on Iran

A report in Politico says a planned U.S. strike on Iran was halted at the last minute after intense diplomatic intervention from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan. The effort came within hours of President Donald Trump’s threat on Thursday to hit Tehran with “great force.”

According to the report, Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, and Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir each called Trump personally in an urgent attempt to reverse his decision. U.S. officials said the decisive factor was the promise from those leaders that an initial agreement with Iran was within reach.

The regional leaders, who Trump has said have significant influence in Tehran and over Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, told him that an agreement on principles could be signed within days. That message led Trump to cancel the planned strike.

The talks also stressed their ability to mediate with Iran and break the deadlock. The episode came as Trump had been increasingly frustrated in recent weeks with Iran’s conduct and was questioning whether Tehran was simply buying time.