RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — President Donald Trump told Gulf leaders on Wednesday he urgently wants “to make a deal” with Iran to wind down its nuclear program but Tehran must end its support of proxy groups throughout the region as part of any potential agreement.
Iran "must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars and permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons," Trump said in remarks at a meeting of leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Saudi capital. "They cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
The U.S. and Iran have engaged in four rounds of talks since early last month focused on Iran's nuclear program. Trump has repeatedly said that he believes brokering a deal is possible but that the window is closing.
The Republican president's strongly worded push on Iran to cease support of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen come as its proxy network has faced significant setbacks in the 19 months since Hamas launched its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
In Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Trump's remarks “deceitful" but did not directly address the U.S. leader's call on Iran to cease support of proxy groups.
Later, Trump, in an exchange with reporters aboard Air Force One, urged Iran “to make the right decision" about its nuclear program "because something’s going to happen one way or the other.”
“So we’ll either do it friendly or we’ll do it very unfriendly,” Trump warned. “And that won’t be pleasant.”
Trump said that he believed the moment was ripe “for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah terrorists.” Hezbollah is severely weakened after its war last year with Israel in which much of its top leadership was killed, and after losing a key ally with the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a conduit for Iran to send arms.
Lifting sanctions on Syria
Trump's comments on Iran came after he met Wednesday with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a face-to-face engagement with the onetime insurgent leader who spent years imprisoned by U.S. forces after being captured in Iraq.
Trump agreed to meet al-Sharaa at the end of his stay in Saudi Arabia. He then headed to Qatar, where he is being honored with a state visit. His Mideast tour also will take him to the United Arab Emirates later this week.
Al-Sharaa was named president of Syria in January, a month after a stunning offensive by insurgent groups led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, stormed Damascus and ended the 54-year rule of the Assad family.
Trump said he decided to meet with al-Sharaa after being encouraged to do so by Prince Mohammed and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He also pledged to lift yearslong sanctions on Syria.
Trump told reporters that the meeting with al-Sharaa went "great" and described him as a “young, attractive guy” with a “very strong past.”
“He’s got a real shot at holding it together," Trump said.
Prince Mohammed joined Trump and al-Sharaa for the meeting, which lasted 33 minutes. Erdogan also took part in the talks via video conference.
The prince said Trump's decision to engage with al-Sharaa and lift the sanctions will “alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people” and spur a “new chapter” for the nation.
Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa joined the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling U.S. forces in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion. He still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges in Iraq. The U.S. once offered $10 million for information about his whereabouts because of his links to al-Qaida.
Al-Sharaa returned to his home country of Syria after the conflict began in 2011 and led al-Qaida’s branch called the Nusra Front. He changed the name of his group to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and cut links with al-Qaida.
The sanctions go back to the rule of Assad, who was ousted in December, and were intended to inflict major pain on his economy.
Both the Biden and Trump administrations left the sanctions in place after Assad’s fall as they sought to take the measure of al-Sharaa.
State visit to Qatar
After meeting with members of the GCC — which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — Trump flew to Qatar, the second stop in his Mideast tour.
Like the Saudis did a day earlier, Qatar rolled out the red carpet for Trump. Trump was greeted at the airport by Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim Al Thani, and Air Force One was escorted by Qatari F-15 jets as it neared the capital city of Doha.
Trump as he sat down for talks with the emir at the Royal Court told the Qatari leader he was impressed with the “perfecto” marble as well as the camels that took part in his grand arrival ceremony.
Al Thani, for his part, said he had high hopes for Trump's efforts at ending the grinding war in Gaza.
“I know that you are a man of peace,” he said. “I know that you want to bring peace to this region.”
Qatar, like the other Gulf Arab states, is an autocratic nation where political parties are banned and speech is tightly controlled. It is overseen by its ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Sheikh Tamim took power in June 2013 when his father stepped down.
Qatar has also played a central role in pay-to-play-style scandals around the globe.
In Israel, authorities are investigating allegations that Qatar hired close advisers to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch PR campaigns to improve the Gulf nation’s image among Israelis.
Two European Union lawmakers were accused of taking money from Doha in a scandal dubbed “Qatar-gate.” U.S. prosecutors in 2020 accused Qatar of bribing FIFA executive committee members to secure the tournament in the country in 2022.
In 2024, RTX Corp., the defense contractor formerly known as Raytheon, agreed to pay more than $950 million to resolve allegations that it defrauded the U.S. government and paid bribes to secure business with Qatar. Doha always has denied wrongdoing.
Qatar also has served as a key mediator, particularly with the militant group Hamas as the international community pursues a ceasefire for the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Qatar also served as host of the negotiations between the United States and the Taliban that led to America’s 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Qatar is home to Al-Udeid Air Base, a sprawling facility that hosts the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command.
The oil-and-gas rich country is also in the center of a controversy over its offer to provide Trump with the gift of a luxury Boeing 747-8 that the U.S. could use as Air Force One while new versions of the plane are under construction by Boeing.
The Qatari government has said a final decision hasn’t been made. But Trump has defended the idea even as critics argue it would amount to a president accepting an astonishingly valuable gift from a foreign government.
Trump has indicated he would refurbish the aircraft and it would later be donated to his post-White House presidential library. He says he would not use the plane once he leaves office.
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AP writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran contributed.
Zeke Miller, Jon Gambrell And Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press
