DUBAI: Gulf allies have convinced Donald Trump to “give Iran a chance”, a Saudi official said on Thursday (Jan 15), after the US leader repeatedly threatened strikes on the Islamic republic over a crackdown on protests that activists say has left thousands dead.
Iran was shaken over the last week by some of the biggest anti-government protests in the history of the Islamic republic, although the demonstrations appear to have diminished over the last few days in the face of repression and an almost week-long internet blackout.
The Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) NGO said on Wednesday that Iranian security forces had killed at least 3,428 protesters, warning that the final toll would be far higher.
Iranian authorities have lashed out at “rioters” who they claimed were backed by Israel and the US, vowing fast-track justice that activists fear will translate into a spree of executions.
Trump has not ruled out new military action against the Islamic republic under supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after Washington backed Israel in its June 12-day war against Iran.
But with the belligerent rhetoric on all sides appearing to tone down for now, a senior Saudi official told AFP on Thursday that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led efforts to talk Trump out of an attack on Iran, fearing “grave blowbacks in the region”.
The Gulf trio “led a long, frantic, diplomatic last-minute effort to convince President Trump to give Iran a chance to show good intention”, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Source: CNA
