Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked US President Donald Trump to postpone the American military attack on Iran, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing a high-ranking representative of the American authorities. It was previously reported that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman also tried to dissuade US President Donald Trump from attacking Iran, warning him of “serious repercussions in the region,” a senior Saudi official told AFP on Thursday.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed at a briefing on Thursday that Trump had spoken to Netanyahu, but declined to provide details about the conversation, which was scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
Trump said on Wednesday that he had been informed that Iran had stopped killing demonstrators and that planned executions of those arrested had been canceled. After the president's words, preparations for a strike against Iran seem to have been suspended, wrote the New York daily.
A representative of the authorities of one of the Gulf countries said that Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt also appealed to the Trump administration to refrain from attacking. The authorities of these countries contacted the Americans within two days and warned that an attack on Iran could develop into a broader regional conflict. At the same time, these countries asked Iran not to attack countries in the region if the United States decides to attack Iran, the source said.
A senior Saudi official told AFP earlier that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman tried to dissuade the US president from attacking Iran, warning him of “serious repercussions in the region.”
Protests in Iran broke out on December 28 in response to the rapidly deteriorating economic situation, then quickly spread across the country and turned into one of the largest social uprisings against the Iranian regime in years. According to various media and non-governmental organizations estimates, security forces killed 2,500 people while suppressing the protests. up to 20 thousand people, but due to the Internet blockade introduced by Tehran on Thursday, it is difficult to obtain verified information.
Diplomatic efforts by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman tried to dissuade US President Donald Trump from attacking Iran, warning him of “serious repercussions in the region,” a senior Saudi official told AFP on Thursday.
According to him, the three Gulf states made “intense last-minute diplomatic efforts to convince Trump to give Iran a chance to show its good intentions.”
The rivalry between Iran and the Sunni monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, is one of the main axes of tension in the Middle East.
In this context, the actions taken by Riyadh, Doha and Muscat towards the US, described by AFP, may show that in a situation of a real threat of regional escalation, concern for stability comes to the fore.
A Saudi official, speaking anonymously, noted that the actions of the Gulf states were aimed at “avoiding uncontrolled development of the situation in the region.” “We told Washington that an attack on Iran would trigger a wave of serious consequences,” he added.
“It was a sleepless night devoted to defusing more bombs in the region,” he said, noting that talks were ongoing to maintain “trust and the current positive climate.”
Saudi Arabia remains one of Iran's main political opponents in the region and sees it as a source of threats – from Yemen's Houthis to Iraqi Shiite militias. Qatar, despite its military alliance with the US, maintains working relations with Iran, with which it shares the world's largest gas field. Oman, in turn, traditionally plays the role of a mediator in regional disputes and consistently avoids clearly taking sides.
Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran to intervene in response to the Iranian government's brutal crackdown on protesters. Tehran declared that it is ready to respond with attacks on American bases and military installations in the Persian Gulf region.
Reuters reported that the US was to launch an attack on Iran. On Wednesday, some staff at the U.S. Al-Udeid base in Qatar were evacuated, and employees of U.S. diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were advised to exercise caution, fueling fears of a U.S. attack on Iran.
On the evening of Wednesday, Trump stated that according to “very reliable sources”, the regime has stopped killing protesters and the planned executions will not take place. After these words, preparations for the attack on Iran were – according to the American media – suspended, and the Pentagon was to decide on the return of US soldiers to the Al-Udeid base.
Protests in Iran broke out on December 28 in response to the rapidly deteriorating economic situation, then quickly spread across the country and turned into one of the largest social uprisings against the Iranian regime in years. According to various media and non-governmental organizations estimates, security forces killed 2,500 people while suppressing the protests. up to 20 thousand people, but due to the Internet blockade introduced by Tehran on Thursday, it is difficult to obtain verified information.
White House: Iran stopped executions of 800 protesters
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Iranian authorities halted the executions of 800 anti-government protesters on Wednesday. However, she added that Iran would still face severe consequences if it continued to kill protestors. She warned that “all options remain on the table.”
– What I can say about Iran is that the president and his team have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be great consequences. And that the president received the message (…) that the killing and executions would stop. The president understands that the 800 executions that were planned yesterday were put on hold yesterday, Leavitt said during a White House briefing.
She stressed that “all options remain on the table” when it comes to the US response to the suppression of Iranian protests. She also refused to comment on reports that Iranian state television broadcast a fragment of a pro-regime demonstration during which the banner of one of the participants was visible. It showed a photo of Trump's assassination in Pennsylvania with the caption: “He won't miss this time.”
However, Leavitt emphasized that thanks to Trump's interventions, 800 lives were saved.
Commenting on the New York Times' reporting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissuaded Trump from striking Iran, Leavitt confirmed that Trump and Netanyahu had a conversation on Wednesday, but declined to reveal its contents. She also noted that she was amused by media reports about what Trump was planning to do, because he only reveals his plans to a small group of advisers.
Although Trump on Tuesday encouraged Iranians to continue protests and assured that “help is on the way,” he softened his message on Wednesday, saying he had received assurances from Tehran that the killing of protesters would stop, along with executions.
Instead of the previously suggested military action, on Thursday the Ministry of Finance imposed sanctions on those responsible for suppressing the protests and on the “parallel banking system that enables Iranian elites to steal and launder money obtained from the country's natural resources.”
From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)
osk/rtt/
From Washington Natalia Dziurdzińska (PAP)
Sun/Sun/
