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US President Donald Trump is expected to meet leaders and foreign ministers from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week to discuss the next steps in the war with Iran, Axios reported, citing three sources.
According to Axios, citing sources, the meeting is expected to focus on US ideas for a postwar strategy as Trump and his senior team work on a day-after plan that is expected to be finalised after the midterm elections. The State Department sent out initial invitations for the meeting on Wednesday, with one source saying the gathering could be expanded to include other Arab and Muslim leaders. The meeting is expected to include representatives from the six GCC countries Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. This comes as Trump on Wednesday touted that he was hopeful that Washington is moving "towards the end of the war." He also claimed that Iran wants to make a deal, saying the US had heard this directly from Iran. The planned meeting comes as Gulf countries hosting US military bases suffered major Iranian attacks during the war while also facing significant economic losses from disruptions to oil and natural gas exports. Axios, citing an Israeli source, further reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also wants to meet Trump in New York, although no meeting has been scheduled. The meeting would come a year after Trump met leaders from eight Arab and Muslim countries during the UN General Assembly and presented them with his draft Gaza peace plan. He presented the plan publicly a week later, and a deal to end the war was reached shortly afterwards. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the US House of Representatives voted for the third time to limit President Donald Trump's authority to continue military operations against Iran, with seven Republicans joining Democrats in backing a resolution directing the administration to withdraw US forces from hostilities. According to CNN, the resolution, introduced by Democratic Representative Seth Moulton, passed 220-204 and directs the President to "remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran", except in specified defensive circumstances. The latest vote received more Republican support than the previous two House efforts in June and July. (ANI)
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