Trump Plans Gulf Talks Amid U.S.-Iran War

President Donald Trump is expected to meet Gulf Cooperation Council leaders and possibly other Arab and Muslim officials next week to discuss an endgame for the nearly seven-month U.S.-Iran war and postwar arrangements. The talks come as Iran-backed Houthi forces advance along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and threaten the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz intensify pressure on shipping, energy exports and the global economy. Saudi Arabia has faced attacks on infrastructure and shipping routes, including the closure of its east-west oil pipeline, raising concerns that regional allies could be drawn into a broader confrontation. Iran has sent mixed diplomatic signals: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was prepared to return to negotiations, while Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaee rejected talks until the United States ends hostilities and its blockade, eases sanctions, releases frozen Iranian assets, and provides compensation or reparations. China has urged Washington and Tehran to resume negotiations and exercise restraint, but continued military escalation and disagreements over the conditions for talks have left prospects for de-escalation uncertain.