President Donald Trump is slated to convene with Gulf Cooperation Council heads on Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a gathering that includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, according to three sources who said they had seen the State Department’s invitation sent out on Wednesday.
The Gulf states have borne the brunt of Iran’s recent missile and drone campaigns, targeting U.S. military installations and disrupting oil and natural‑gas pipelines that once flowed uninterrupted across the region, according to a defense analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump, speaking on Wednesday, said, "Hopefully we are towards the end of the war," and reiterated that Tehran has expressed willingness to negotiate, a statement he claimed came straight from the Iranian leadership.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also expressed a desire to meet the former president in New York, but an Israeli source confirmed that no such meeting has yet been scheduled.
The meeting echoes Trump’s 2025 UN General Assembly outreach, when he convened leaders from eight Arab and Muslim states, unveiled a draft cease‑fire plan for Gaza, and saw a deal signed a week later, an Israeli diplomat noted.
The White House has declined to comment on the planned engagement, but officials say the outcomes will shape a U.S. postwar strategy slated for final approval before the mid‑term elections later this year.