U.S. President Trump spoke to the Iran nuclear deal, lift of sanctions on Syria, and relations with Qatar in an address to key businesspeople on Thursday morning, the second day of his official visit to the Gulf state.
U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for pushing for a peaceful deal with Iran and standing against the “violent course” of action during a roundtable business meeting in Doha as part of his official visit to the Gulf state.
“Iran is very lucky to have the Amir,” Trump said during his address to top business leaders from both the U.S. and Qatar. “He is actually fighting for them. He doesn’t want us to do a vicious blow to Iran.”
Trump’s comments come amid recent discussions between the U.S. and Iran over nuclear weapons, which is being mediated by Oman.
The fourth and latest round of discussions between the two nations occurred on Sunday, just days before Trump’s Middle East trip.
Trump said that Iran “sort of agreed to the terms” but did not specify details.
“We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran. I want them to succeed. I want them to end up being a great country, but they can’t have a nuclear weapon. That’s the only thing. It’s very simple,” he said.
On Wednesday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on state television that the country would not bow down to a “bully,” responding to Trump’s statements during his Middle East trip.
In an address to the GCC-U.S. Summit held in Saudi Arabia during the first leg of his visit on Wednesday morning, Trump had laid out conditions for reaching a peaceful resolution with Iran.
“I want to do something if it’s possible, but for that to happen, Iran should stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars and permanently and verifiably cease its pursuit of nuclear weapons,” Trump said in Riyadh.
U.S. giving Al-Sharaa “fighting chance” by lifting sanctions
In his Thursday morning address, Trump said the decision to lift sanctions on Syria, which were imposed during Bashar Al-Assad’s rule, would give the country a “fighting chance”
Trump also signaled some confidence in Syria’s interim leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, whom he met on Wednesday in Riyadh.
“He is a strong guy and I thought he was good,” Trump said on Thursday in Doha.
Trump said the decision to lift sanctions off Syria had been “popular” among leaders, including Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as Qatar’s Amir, Sheikh Tamim.
Al-Sharaa, in a televised address after the U.S.-GCC Summit on Wednesday, thanked all the leaders involved in the negotiations leading up to the “historic and courageous” decision.
He also lauded Qatar’s Amir for standing “firmly by our side in word and deed” and that his backing of the Syrian people “will be remembered in history.”
Qatar-U.S. relations stronger than ever, says Trump
Several agreements in aviation and defence were signed during Trump’s first day in Doha, which have made the bilateral relationship between Qatar and the U.S. stronger than ever, according to the U.S. President.
“We’ve never had a relationship with Qatar as strong as it is now,” Trump said at the roundtable meeting on Thursday.
Trump said Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim is a part of “fantastic leadership talents,” alongside Saudi’s MBS and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed.
On the back of the signing of a Joint Declaration of Cooperation on Wednesday, Trump said his country will continue to provide security to Qatar.
“We’re gonna protect you. That’s the one thing you need. Maybe, but I don’t think you’re going to need too much of that,” Trump added.
In addition to the defence deals, Qatar Airways (QA) signed an agreement with Boeing to purchase 160 aircraft, a deal valued at valued at $96bn (around QAR 251bn), the biggest sale in the plane manufacturer’s history.
QA will also purchase 400 engines from GE Aerospace, the U.S.-based aeroplane engine manufacturer.
The landmark agreements and statements announced on Wednesday are expected to generate economic exchanges worth $1.2 trillion between Qatar and the U.S., according to a White House fact sheet.
