Trump tells Gulf leaders Iran must cease support of proxy groups as part
of any nuclear deal
[May 14, 2025]
By ZEKE MILLER, JON GAMBRELL and AAMER MADHANI
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — President Donald Trump told Gulf leaders on
Wednesday that he urgently wants “to make a deal” with Iran to wind down
its nuclear program but that Tehran must end its support of proxy groups
throughout the region as part of any potential agreement.
Iran "must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars, and
permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons," Trump said
in remarks at a meeting of leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council
hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Saudi capital. "They
cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
The U.S. and Iran have engaged in four rounds of talks since early last
month focused on Iran's nuclear program. Trump has repeatedly said he
believes brokering a deal is possible, but that the window is closing.
The president's strongly worded push on Iran to cease support of Hamas
in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen come as its
proxy network has faced significant setbacks in the 19 months since
Hamas launched its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
In Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Trump's remarks
“deceitful" but did not directly address the U.S. leader's call on Iran
to cease support of proxy groups.
Trump added that he believed the moment was ripe “for a future free from
the grip of Hezbollah terrorists.” Hezbollah is severely weakened after
its war last year with Israel in which much of its top leadership was
killed, and after losing a key ally with the fall of former Syrian
President Bashar Assad, a conduit for Iran to send arms.
Lifting sanctions on Syria
Trump's comments on Iran came after he met Wednesday with Syrian
President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a face-to-face engagement with the onetime
insurgent leader who spent years imprisoned by U.S. forces after being
captured in Iraq.
Trump agreed to meet al-Sharaa at the end of his stay in Saudi Arabia.
He headed next to Qatar, where he will be honored with a state visit.
His Mideast tour also will take him to the United Arab Emirates.
Al-Sharaa was named president of Syria in January, a month after a
stunning offensive by insurgent groups led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir
al-Sham, or HTS, stormed Damascus and ended the 54-year rule of the
Assad family.
Trump said he decided to meet with al-Sharaa after being encouraged to
do so by Prince Mohammed and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The
president also pledged to lift yearslong sanctions on Syria.
“The sanctions were really crippling and very powerful,” Trump said.
“It’s not going to be easy anyway, so it gives them a good, strong
chance" to rebuild the country, he added.
Prince Mohammed joined Trump and al-Sharaa for the meeting, which lasted
about 33 minutes. Erdogan also took part in the talks via video
conference.
The prince said Trump's decision to engage with al-Sharaa and lift the
sanctions will “alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people” and spur a
“new chapter” for the nation.
Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa
joined the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling U.S. forces in Iraq
after the U.S.-led invasion. He still faces a warrant for his arrest on
terrorism charges in Iraq. The U.S. once offered $10 million for
information about his whereabouts because of his links to al-Qaida.
Al-Sharaa came back to his home country of Syria after the conflict
began in 2011 and led al-Qaida’s branch that used to be known as the
Nusra Front. He later changed the name of his group to Hayat Tahrir
al-Sham and cut links with al-Qaida.
The sanctions go back to the rule of Assad, who was ousted in December,
and were intended to inflict major pain on his economy.
Both the Biden and Trump administrations left the sanctions in place
after Assad’s fall as they sought to take the measure of al-Sharaa.
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President Donald Trump speaks during the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP
Photo/Alex Brandon)
State visit to Qatar
After meeting with members of the GCC — which includes Bahrain,
Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates —
Trump was heading to Qatar, the second stop in his Mideast tour.
Qatar, like the other Gulf Arab states, is an autocratic nation
where political parties are banned and speech is tightly controlled.
It is overseen by its ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Sheikh Tamim, 44, took power in June 2013 when his father stepped
down.
Qatar has also played a central role in pay-to-play-style scandals
around the globe.
In Israel, authorities are investigating allegations that Qatar
hired close advisers to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to
launch PR campaigns to improve the Gulf nation’s image among
Israelis.
Two European Union lawmakers were accused of taking money from Doha
in a scandal dubbed “Qatar-gate.” U.S. prosecutors in 2020 accused
Qatar of bribing FIFA executive committee members to secure the
tournament in the country in 2022.
In 2024, RTX Corporation, the defense contractor formerly known as
Raytheon, agreed to pay more than $950 million to resolve
allegations that it defrauded the U.S. government and paid bribes to
secure business with Qatar. Doha always has denied wrongdoing.
Qatar follows an ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam known as
Wahhabism born out of Saudi Arabia. However, Qatar struck a
different tack in the Arab Spring by backing Islamists, including
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and former Egyptian President Mohammed
Morsi, as well as those who rose up against Assad.
Its support of Islamists, in part, led to a yearslong boycott of the
country by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates. That boycott only ended as then-President Joe Biden
prepared to enter the White House in 2021.
Qatar also has served as a key mediator, particularly with the
militant group Hamas as the international community pursues a
ceasefire for the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Qatar also
served as host of the negotiations between the United States and the
Taliban that led to America’s 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Qatar is home to Al-Udeid Air Base, a sprawling facility that hosts
the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command.
The oil-rich country is also in the center of a controversy over its
offer to provide Trump with the gift of a luxury Boeing 747-8 that
the U.S. could use as Air Force One while new versions of the plane
are under construction by Boeing.
The Qatari government has said a final decision hasn’t been made.
But Trump has defended the idea even as critics argue it would
amount to a president accepting an astonishingly valuable gift from
a foreign government.
Trump has indicated he would refurbish the aircraft and it would
later be donated to his post-White House presidential library. He
says he would not use the plane once he leaves office.
The president said in a social media post that the plane “is a gift
from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many
years.”
“Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to
pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE
from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done,” Trump
added. “This big savings will be spent, instead, to MAKE AMERICA
GREAT AGAIN! Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our
Country.”
—
AP writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Tia Goldenberg in Tel
Aviv and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran contributed.
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