The American president suspends a military operation against Tehran to make room for nuclear negotiations. The Gulf countries fear a new war in the Middle East and are asking for more time with diplomacy.
Donald Trump returns to move on the thread of tension between diplomacy and military threat. The president of United States in fact, he confirmed that he had decided to postpone a possible attack against Iran while negotiations continue to seek an agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program. A choice that comes at an extremely delicate moment for the Middle Eastwith the Arab allies of Washington commit to avoiding a new one regional escalation And Israel which instead continues to keep the pressure high on theIran. Speaking to journalists at the White HouseTrump explained that the United States they were ready to launch “a very important operation” already in the next few hours, but that the decision was temporarily suspended to leave room for diplomatic negotiations. «We had prepared a very significant attack for tomorrow. I decided to postpone it for a short period because we are having very important talks with Iran and we want to understand where they will lead”, declared the American president. Second Trump, some of Washington’s main Arab partners in the region would have explicitly asked the United States to grant more time to the negotiations. The president quoted Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emiratesexplaining that these countries still believe it is possible to find a diplomatic solution capable of prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon without reaching an open conflict. Trump underlined that, if the talks were to lead to an agreement capable of blocking Iran’s atomic program, the United States could also consider itself satisfied. «If we could reach an agreement that prevents Iran from obtaining nuclear weaponsI think everyone would be happy,” he said. The president also specified that he had informed directly Israel of the choice to temporarily suspend the military operation, as well as other Middle Eastern allies involved in the crisis.
Trump’s words come at a time of very strong international tension. For months Washington And Tehran they face diplomatic overtures, military threats and mutual accusations. The United States continue to maintain that Iran can never be authorized to acquire nuclear weapons, while the Iranian regime insists that its atomic program is for exclusively civilian purposes. However, the American president clarified that the postponement does not mean the definitive cancellation of the military option. Indeed, Trump defined the attack plan prepared by the United States as “very harsh” and potentially devastating. “It would have been an extremely forceful action, something I would not have wanted to do but which we may be forced to do if there are no alternatives,” he said. Trump also recalled how in the past there had already been moments in which the negotiations seemed close to a conclusion without however producing concrete results. “There were periods in which we thought we were very close to an agreement and then everything fell through,” explained the president, adding however that this time the situation “appears different” and that recent developments could open a real glimmer of hope towards an agreement. In the previous hours, Trump himself had published a message on social media Truth Social revealing that the United States they were ready to strike Iran but had decided to suspend the operation due to the “serious negotiations” underway. The post immediately provoked a wave of international reactions and new concerns about the possibility of a direct conflict between Washington And Tehran.
The fears of the Gulf countries
According to what the American president reported, several leaders in the region were calling for a pause. Trump cited the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thanithe Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and the president of the United Arab Emirates Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Everyone would have asked the United States to temporarily halt the military operation to allow negotiations to continue. Behind the diplomatic pressure of Gulf countries there is a real fear that an attack on Iran could set the whole place on fire Middle East. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates And Qatar they host American military bases and strategic energy infrastructure that could become targets of possible Iranian retaliation. In recent years Tehran has demonstrated that it can strike indirectly through allied militias and armed groups present in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon And Yemen. The crisis also risks having serious global economic consequences. A direct conflict with Iran could compromise the security of Strait of Hormuz, the maritime passage through which an enormous share of the world’s oil passes. Any military escalation could cause a surge in energy prices and new tensions on international markets. For the moment Trump seems to still want to leave room for diplomacy, but the message sent by White House it remains clear: the military option continues to be on the table and Washington is ready to act should negotiations fail. In Middle EastMeanwhile, the wait is growing to understand whether the next few weeks will really lead to an agreement or to a new crisis destined to further destabilize the region.
The double game of the mullahs
The Iranians, however, continue to play on two tables: According to various sources, Tehran has used the month of truce in the war against the United States and Israel to reorganize its military capabilities in view of a possible resumption of the conflict, in particular by repositioning the ballistic missile launchers. The New York Timesciting an anonymous American military official, reports that since the ceasefire came into force on April 8, Iranian forces have worked intensively to clear dozens of launch sites hit by the bombing, transfer mobile missile systems and modify operational tactics after the heavy losses suffered during the attacks. According to the same source, the US raids mainly damaged access to Iranian missile complexes without completely destroying the launchers. Many of these systems, in fact, would have been hidden within deep underground structures and fortified caves designed precisely to resist aerial bombings and guarantee Iran the ability to continue any military operations even in the event of new attacks.
