US President Donald Trump said on Saturday the US could not share military plans with Gulf allies while negotiating with Iran, even as a major American naval presence moves into the region.
Speaking with Fox News Channel senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, Trump responded to reporting that Gulf allies remain in the dark about potential US intervention plans involving Iran.
“Well, we can’t tell them the plan. If I told them the plan, it would be almost as bad as telling you the plan – it could be worse, actually,” Trump said. “But look, the plan is that [Iran is] talking to us, and we’ll see if we can do something, otherwise we’ll see what happens… We have a big fleet heading out there, bigger than we had – and still have, actually – in Venezuela.”
A senior Gulf official told Fox News that Saudi Arabia would not allow the US to use its airspace or bases for an attack. A high-ranking government figure from a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) state told Fox News that the “US hasn’t shared objectives or plans” regarding Iran with Gulf allies, despite recent high-level Saudi meetings in Washington aimed at gaining clarity.
Gulf allies have said Iran frequently seeks negotiations, but they remain skeptical that talks will lead to a deal.
“Well, that’s true, but they are negotiating, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said, responding to that assessment.
“You know, the last time they negotiated, we had to take out their nuclear, didn’t work, you know. Then we took it out a different way, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump added.
On Friday, Trump spoke to reporters in the White House and hinted that he had given Iran an ultimatum to make a deal with the US.
Asked whether he is giving Iran a deadline to make a deal before potentially taking military action against them, Trump replied, “Only they know for sure.”
To the question of whether he has communicated this to them directly, the President said, “Yeah, I have.”
Trump also said, “We’ll see how it all works out, it’s a rough situation… a lot of people are being killed. I can say this, Iran wants to make a deal.”
He once again noted the increased US military presence in the region, saying, “We have a tremendously powerful fleet there. We have the most powerful ships in the world.”
Hours before Trump’s comments, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran is prepared to resume nuclear negotiations with the US, but warned that talks cannot proceed while Washington continues to threaten military action.
Araghchi stressed that Iran will not negotiate over its ballistic missile program and said the country is prepared for either outcome. “Iran is ready for both scenarios – war or diplomacy,” he said.
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