Persian Gulf states ask Trump to soften position on Iran, says NY Times

The leaders of Arab countries in the Persian Gulf region called on US President-elect Donald Trump to adopt “a softer stance” on the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to a report.

News ID: 5781

Date: 15 January 2025 - 12:37

TABNAK, Jan 15: The New York Times reported that the Arab leaders have also been urging Trump — who will officially become US president on January 20 — to take “a tougher line on Israel.”

During his first term in office, Trump withdrew the United States from a landmark agreement between Iran and six world powers, including America. He had campaigned against the deal, and was embittered that it did not benefit the US financially. Subsequently, and as Iran refused to negotiate another agreement with a perfidious state, Trump launched what he called a campaign of “maximum pressure” on Tehran.

Also during his first term, Trump embraced Arab countries in what was perceived as an anti-Iran coalition.

In what The New York Times now portrays as a significant shift, those same Arab countries have now been calling on the incoming US president to soften his stance on Iran during his second term in office.

The report pointed to public remarks by Arab leaders over the past year, since Israel launched a war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, and said the remarks reveal a repositioning of attitude.

The horrendous loss of life and essential flattening of the Gaza Strip, which many countries now consider as tantamount to genocide, has pushed Arab leaders, previously mostly oblivious to the plight of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation and siege, to shift their stance.

The ongoing Israeli war has killed more than 46,500 Palestinians, and counting.