Gulf leaders convinced Trump to go easy on Iran, says officials Submitted by MEE staff on Thu, 01/15/2026 - 15:17 Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar reportedly talked the US out of a proposed assault on Iran Members of the Basij volunteer Islamic militia burn US and Israeli flags during a protest in front of the British Embassy in Tehran on 14 January 2026 (Atta Kenare / AFP) Off A group of Gulf countries helped convince US President Donald Trump to drop a planned attack on Iran , according to a senior Saudi official. The official told AFP that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led efforts to persuade Trump, with another Gulf official confirming the discussions. The three regional US allies "led a long, frantic, diplomatic last-minute effort to convince President Trump to give Iran a chance to show good intention," the Saudi official said. The development comes after days of build‑up and growing expectations of an American military response to Iran’s nationwide unrest, which authorities have suppressed with lethal force. Trump said on Thursday that he had received assurances from “very important sources” in Tehran that planned executions of protesters would not take place. In remarks signalling a cautious easing of escalating tensions, Trump, speaking from the Oval Office, said the US would “watch and see”. "They've said the killing has stopped and the executions won't take place. There were supposed to be a lot of executions today and that the executions won't take place, and we're going to find out," Trump said. Asked if US military action was now off the table, Trump replied: "We're going to watch it and see what the process is." After Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Iran had "no plan" to hang people, Iranian state media on Thursday reported that a 26-year-old man, Erfan Soltani, arrested during protests in the city of Karaj would not be given the death sentence. Some personnel were moved out of Qatar's Al-Udeid Airbase on Wednesday, and staff at US missions in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were warned to exercise caution over a possible Iranian assault. Diplomatic sources told AFP on Thursday the threat level on the base had fallen and gradually "planes have started moving back to position pre-Wednesday." According to Reuters, more than 2,600 people may have been killed so far in the protests and associated crackdown and violence. AFP on Thursday quoted human rights groups placing the number at 3,428. Diplomacy News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0