US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Gulf leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday to discuss the next steps in the war on Iran.
The meeting is expected to focus on US proposals for a postwar strategy, as Trump and senior members of his administration work on a broader ‘day-after’ plan that is expected to be finalised after the US midterm elections in November, Axios reported yesterday, citing sources with direct knowledge of the plans.
The meeting will include GCC leaders or foreign ministers, and could also expand to include leaders from other Arab and Muslim countries, according to one of the sources.
The US State Department sent initial invitations on Wednesday, while the White House declined to comment on the reported meeting.
The talks come as the US war on Iran enters its seventh month, while fighting has intensified in Yemen between Saudi-backed government forces and the rebel Houthis.
Trump said yesterday he hoped an end to the war against Iran was near.
“They want to make a deal. We’ll see how that works out,” he said, referring to Iran, reiterating past comments. Trump also said he had heard from Iran ‘directly’, without elaborating.
The extension of the war into Yemen threatens to worsen the global energy-supply shortage caused by the war, which has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait carried about 20 per cent of global oil and LNG before the conflict.
Traders say a prolonged closure of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline could cut off as much as 4pc of global oil supply.
Saudi Arabia has not said when operations might resume.
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