A senior US official told Israeli journalist Barak Ravid (N12) that President Donald Trump will convene a summit with Middle Eastern leaders in France on Tuesday and hold separate meetings with the Emir of Qatar, the president of Egypt, and the president of the UAE.
President Donald Trump plans to hold a Middle East summit in France on Tuesday, a senior US official told Israeli journalist Barak Ravid (N12). In addition to the multilateral gathering, Trump will hold bilateral meetings with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani; Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi; and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The timing and venue suggest this will be a focused diplomatic push by the Trump administration on regional issues, most notably the file with Iran. As The Zioneer reported last week, the Qatari emir and the UAE president both played central roles in persuading Trump to call off a planned strike on Iran in favor of pursuing a deal, according to Politico. Trump has since repeatedly expressed his view that the Iranians want an agreement.
The separate bilateral sessions with three key Arab leaders — Qatar, Egypt, and the UAE — indicate that a framework meeting of the Arab quartet (without Saudi Arabia explicitly mentioned in this report) is being pursued. The summit follows a series of intensive behind-the-scenes contacts between Washington and Gulf capitals, including Trump's recent phone call with the Qatari emir and his praise for Turkish President Erdogan.
No agenda has been formally released, and it remains unclear whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will participate or whether the venue in France was chosen to facilitate additional meetings.
2 developments
- StrongTrump tells Netanyahu he is determined to sign Iran agreement as deal talks accelerate
- StrongTrump administration reportedly finalizing US-Iran deal; Israel faces strategic shift
- DevelopingTrump departs Washington for G7 as US and Iran hold preliminary talks in Doha
- DevelopingTrump tells Axios he still believes Iran deal possible this weekend or Monday
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
- Internal intake