President Donald Trump met Tuesday with senior representatives from 12 Middle Eastern countries in an expanded gathering on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, discussing the war with Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and broader regional security. The meeting was formally billed by the White House as a multilateral meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council, but representatives from six additional Middle Eastern countries also attended, according to a White House pool report and the Times of Israel.
Along with the six GCC states — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman — the meeting included senior officials from Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, the Times of Israel reported. Trump told the leaders there was “a lot of momentum” toward a potential agreement with Iran, following roughly three hours of talks between U.S. and Iranian representatives in New York earlier Tuesday, according to the Times of Israel. “We think the situation in Iran can end after the midterm elections,” Trump said during the meeting, according to the White House pool report.
