Axios: Gulf leaders urged Trump to delay Iran strike in last-minute push

Saudi, Qatari, and Emirati leaders privately urged the United States to avoid military escalation with Iran during a coordinated diplomatic intervention in the 24 hours before US President Donald Trump announced he had paused a planned strike, according to Axios journalist Barak Ravid.

Ravid said Trump held separate phone calls with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates shortly before his public statement on Truth Social, Caliber.Az reports.

🚨Behind the scenes: Trump spoke on the phone with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE in the 24 hours before his announcement, two sources with knowledge said
🚨One U.S. official said there'd been "a unified message from Doha, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh. It was along the… https://t.co/2wehNVefHg

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) May 18, 2026

Citing sources familiar with the discussions, he said Gulf leaders delivered what was described as a unified message warning Washington against military action, stressing the risk of regional escalation.

One US official was quoted as saying: “give negotiations a chance because if you hit Iran, we will all pay the price for it.”

A second source told Axios that Trump also relayed to some political allies that Gulf leaders had warned they did not want their energy infrastructure to become a target in the event of Iranian retaliation.

The behind-the-scenes diplomatic exchanges came shortly before Trump’s public statement on Truth Social, in which he said he had decided to halt a planned military strike on Iran after being urged by regional leaders to allow time for negotiations.

In his post, Trump said he had been contacted by the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, who expressed confidence that a diplomatic agreement could be reached. He said he had instructed US military officials to stand down from the planned operation while remaining prepared for possible future action if negotiations fail.

Trump also emphasised that any potential deal would require guarantees that Iran would not obtain nuclear weapons.

“Based on my respect for the above mentioned Leaders, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, The Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Caine, and The United States Military, that we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached,” he wrote.

By Sabina Mammadli