Trump tells Iran that US does not intend to strike – report

Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan said that Trump informed Tehran he was not seeking a war and urged Iranian leaders to avoid hitting US assets in the Gulf.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

US President Donald Trump has told Iranian officials he does not intend to launch a strike, a message relayed privately to Tehran and echoed publicly as Washington scaled back emergency preparations at its main air base in Qatar on Thursday.

Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, said during a visit to a Pakistani ministry that Trump informed Tehran he was not seeking a war and urged Iranian leaders to avoid hitting US assets in the Gulf.

His comments followed Trump’s assertion on Wednesday that he had been advised the killing of protesters in Iran’s streets had halted and that no executions were planned. The president said he had received the information “on good authority,” adding that any renewed violence would provoke strong anger in Washington.

The shift in tone came after a frenetic night of diplomacy across the region. Officials from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Egypt mounted what one Gulf source described as a high-intensity effort to persuade the White House to pause plans for an attack.

A senior Saudi official, speaking anonymously, said the four governments pressed Trump to allow Iran a chance to demonstrate good intentions and cautioned that military action risked dangerous regional consequences, the Times of Israel reports.

Those warnings were paired with direct messages to Tehran. A Gulf official said countries in the region told Iran that any strike on US facilities would damage its relations with neighboring states, particularly given the economic and security fallout a wider conflict could trigger.

Meanwhile, at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, US forces reversed steps taken the previous day, when personnel and aircraft were moved amid rising fears of retaliation. Three individuals briefed on the situation told Reuters the security alert at the base had been lowered and that American aircraft were returning.

The diplomatic campaign unfolded against the backdrop of mass demonstrations inside Iran, where thousands have reportedly been killed. The Saudi official said the aim throughout the night was to “avoid an uncontrollable situation,” noting that conversations with both Washington and Tehran were continuing to preserve the current easing of tensions.