Trump Appeals to Qatar for Iran Help   05/15 06:22

   

   DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- President Donald Trump urged Qatar on Wednesday to use 
its influence over Iran to persuade the country's leadership to reach an 
agreement with the U.S. to dial back its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

   Trump, who is visiting the Gulf nation as part of a three-country Mideast 
swing, made the appeal during a state dinner held in his honor by Qatar's emir, 
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

   Qatar, over the years, has played the role of intermediary between the U.S. 
and Iran and its proxies, including during talks with Tehran-backed Hamas as 
its 19-month war with Israel grinds on.

   "I hope you can help me with the Iran situation," Trump said during remarks 
at the formal dinner. "It's a perilous situation, and we want to do the right 
thing."

   Trump wants Iran to stop backing militant proxy groups

   The appeal to Qatar came after Trump told leaders at a Gulf Cooperation 
Council meeting earlier Wednesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that he wants "to 
make a deal," but Tehran must end its support of proxy groups throughout the 
Mideast as part of any potential agreement.

   The U.S. and Iran brokered a nuclear deal in 2015, during Democrat Barack 
Obama's administration, in which Iran agreed to drastically reduce its 
stockpile of uranium and only enrich up to 3.67%. But that deal was scrapped 
during the first Trump administration.

   Today, Iran enriches up to 60%, a short, technical step from weapons-grade 
levels, and has enough stockpiled for multiple nuclear bombs should it choose 
to build them.

   The Qatari emir told Fox News Channel on Wednesday night that "we agree that 
we want a nuclear-free region, and we cannot afford a nuclear race in that 
region."

   But, Al Thani said, "Iran has its right to have a nuclear -- a civilian 
nuclear power, while not also representing any challenge or any threat for 
anyone in the region." He said the issue needs to be resolved diplomatically.

   The U.S. and Iran have engaged in four rounds of talks since early last 
month about the country's nuclear program. Trump has said that he believes 
brokering a nuclear deal is possible but that the window is closing.

   At the state dinner, he called on Iran's leadership to "get moving" or risk 
the situation spiraling into a head-on conflict.

   "Because things like that get started and they get out of control," Trump 
said. "I've seen it over and over again. They go to war and things get out of 
control, and we're not going to let that happen."

   Trump, in his appearance at the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Riyadh, 
also said that Tehran "must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars 
and permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons" as conditions 
for any deal.

   The call for Iran to cease support of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon 
and the Houthis in Yemen comes as that proxy network has faced significant 
setbacks in the 19 months since Hamas launched its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on 
Israel.

   In Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Trump's remarks "deceitful" 
but did not directly address his demands.

   Trump said that he also believed the moment was ripe "for a future free from 
the grip of Hezbollah terrorists." Hezbollah is severely weakened after its war 
last year with Israel, in which much of its top leadership was killed and after 
losing a key ally with the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a 
conduit for Iran to send arms.

   Lifting sanctions on Syria

   While in Riyadh, Trump also met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a 
face-to-face engagement with the onetime insurgent leader who spent years 
imprisoned by U.S. forces after being captured in Iraq.

   Al-Sharaa was named president of Syria in January, a month after a stunning 
offensive by insurgent groups led by al-Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham stormed 
Damascus and ended the 54-year rule of the Assad family.

   Trump said he decided to meet with al-Sharaa after being encouraged to do so 
by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip 
Erdogan. He also pledged to lift yearslong sanctions on Syria.

   The White House billed the al-Sharaa meeting as a brief "pull aside" that 
ended up lasting 33 minutes.

   Trump told reporters that the meeting went "great" and described him as a 
"young, attractive guy" with a "very strong past."

   "He's got a real shot at holding it together," Trump said.

   Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa joined 
the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling U.S. forces in Iraq after the 
U.S.-led invasion. He still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges 
in Iraq. The U.S. once offered $10 million for information about his 
whereabouts because of his links to al-Qaida.

   Al-Sharaa returned to his home country of Syria after the conflict began in 
2011 and led al-Qaida's branch called the Nusra Front. He changed the name of 
his group to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and cut links with al-Qaida.

   The sanctions go back to the rule of Bashar Assad, who was ousted in 
December, and were intended to inflict major pain on his economy.

   Qatar rolls out the red carpet for Trump

   In Qatar, Trump was greeted at the airport by Al Thani. Air Force One was 
escorted by Qatari F-15 jets as it neared Doha, the capital city.

   As he sat down for talks at Amiri Diwan, the administrative office of the 
emir, Trump told the Qatari leader he was impressed with the "perfecto" marble 
as well as the camels that took part in the arrival ceremony.

   The emir said he had high hopes for Trump's efforts with Iran and at ending 
the war in Gaza.

   "I know that you are a man of peace," he said. "I know that you want to 
bring peace to this region."

   Qatar, like the other Gulf Arab states, is an autocratic nation where 
political parties are banned and speech is tightly controlled.

   But Qatar has also served as a valuable partner to the U.S. The country is 
also home to Al-Udeid Air Base, a sprawling facility that hosts the forward 
headquarters of the U.S. military's Central Command.

   The oil-and-gas-rich country is also in the center of a controversy over its 
offer to provide Trump with the gift of a luxury Boeing 747-8 that the U.S. 
could use as Air Force One while new versions of the plane are under 
construction by Boeing.

   The Qatari government has said a final decision hasn't been made. Trump has 
defended the idea even as critics argue it would amount to a president 
accepting an astonishingly valuable gift from a foreign government.

   Trump has indicated he would refurbish the aircraft and it would later be 
donated to his post-White House presidential library. He says he would not use 
the plane once he leaves office.

   Trump will head to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday for the final stop 
of his Mideast tour.