Arab states were working to avert US strikes on Iran, with Washington bellicose and Tehran unwilling to look weak.
A US carrier is in the Gulf, and President Donald Trump has threatened strikes, initially over Iran’s deadly crackdown on protests, and now over its nuclear program; Iran considers US conditions “akin to surrender,” the Financial Times reported.
Oman, Qatar, and the UAE are engaged in frantic diplomacy, warning Trump that an attack could trigger broader conflict. Tehran is vulnerable after Israeli and US attacks, along with unrest, drought, and economic instability. Trump “likes low-cost, high-impact operations,” an analyst told The New York Times, but a conflict in the Gulf could drag on; in Iran, “he could do high impact,” but not low cost.