Four Arab countries conducted urgent diplomacy with Washington and Tehran this week to avert a possible U.S. military strike on Iran over its crackdown on protesters, amid concerns the fallout could destabilize the wider region, a Gulf official said.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Egypt were involved in the diplomacy over 48 hours before U.S. President Donald Trump signalled on Thursday that he had ultimately decided against an attack for now, saying the killings in Iran were easing.
The four countries had conveyed to Washington that any attack would have consequences for the wider region in terms of both security and economics that would ultimately impact the United States itself, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
They told Iran that any retaliatory attack it launched on U.S. facilities in the Gulf would have consequences for Tehran's relations with other countries in the region, the official added.
Saudi Arabia's international media office, Qatar's Foreign Ministry, Oman's Information Ministry and Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
