Follow-up: Trump Says Gulf States Prefer Keeping Iran Blockade After Call With Qatar’s Prime Minister
President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on November 9 that he had an excellent conversation that day with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Prime Minister of Qatar, and that much was discussed with respect to Iran. Trump said Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and others would prefer the status quo, meaning a continuation of the naval blockade of Iran and the new Operation Iron Gate, by land and sea.
Trump wrote that all have agreed Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and that this is non-negotiable. He said that should developments in the Middle East change, the United States is locked and loaded and ready to go, but that at this point that seems quite unlikely. He added that Israel and the entire Middle East are protected from Iranian danger and threats, and that there is positive momentum toward an end to the conflict. The post was published at 4:29 p.m. Eastern Time on November 9.
Qatar is the main mediator between the United States and Iran. According to Reuters, Al Thani, who is also Qatar's foreign minister, visited Tehran last week and met Trump and Vice President JD Vance in Washington on November 9. Iran's proposal to end the war calls for the United States to end its blockade of Iranian ports, lift some sanctions and halt its bombing, in return for Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz; the United States has repeatedly rejected that plan, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on November 8 that Iran's conditions were outrageous and that negotiations had made little progress.
Speaking to Reuters after the meeting on November 9, Trump said Qatar and Saudi Arabia were eager for a peaceful solution on the Iran conflict, that the United States was ready to resume military strikes if necessary, and that he was content with the naval blockade and in no rush to resume strikes. The characterization that the Gulf states prefer the status quo comes from Trump's own post; the Gulf governments have not publicly issued statements confirming that characterization. (Source: Donald Trump)
Related:
Trump to Meet Qatar’s Prime Minister at the White House on Monday as Iran Talks Stall
CENTCOM Creates Task Force Iron Gate to Block Iran’s Land and Caspian Weapons Routes
Source: Donald Trump
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：五角大楼航拍（美国国防部总部）。照片：美国海军，公共领域，Wikimedia Commons。Aerial view of the Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense (U.S. Navy photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons).
- 2026-11-09Trump to Meet Qatar's Prime Minister at the White House on Monday as Iran Talks Stall
- 2026-11-09Follow-up: Trump Says Gulf States Prefer Keeping Iran Blockade After Call With Qatar’s Prime MinisterThis story
