Gulf Leaders Urge US to Secure Guarantees from Iran on Regional Security

The leaders of Gulf nations, during talks with US President Donald Trump on Saturday, urged Washington to ensure Iran provides guarantees that regional countries would not be targeted again, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources.

According to the newspaper, the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other regional nations are concerned about the prospect of a US-Iran agreement that would not cover Tehran’s missile program. The paper notes that the missile program has not yet been discussed in talks. The leaders of Gulf nations are wary that a potential new round of escalation could endanger their infrastructure facilities.

Regional countries have also called on Trump to make a deal with Iran as soon as possible, pointing to the negative economic impact of the conflict.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. On April 7, US President Donald Trump announced a "double-sided" two-week ceasefire with Iran. On April 11, the parties held several rounds of talks in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. According to both Tehran and Washington, they were unable to agree on a long-term solution to the conflict due to multiple disagreements. On April 21, the US president announced plans to extend the ceasefire with Iran. On May 19, Trump said the US was ready to give diplomacy a chance, postponing military operations until the beginning of next week. On May 23, the US leader stated that an agreement had been largely negotiated.