Trump appeals for Qatar's help in persuading Iran to give up its nuclear programme

Trump urges Qatar to help broker a nuclear deal with Iran, stop backing militant groups in the Mideast.

President Donald Trump urged Qatar on Wednesday (May 14, 2025) to use its influence over Iran to persuade the country's leadership to reach an agreement with the U.S. to dial back its rapidly advancing nuclear programme.

Mr. Trump, who is visiting the Gulf nation as part of a three-country Mideast swing, made the appeal during a state dinner held in his honour by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Qatar, over the years, has played the role of intermediary between the U.S. and Iran and its proxies, including during talks with Tehran-backed Hamas as its 19-month war with Israel grinds on.

“I hope you can help me with the Iran situation,” Mr. Trump said during remarks at the formal dinner. “It's a perilous situation, and we want to do the right thing."

The appeal to Qatar came after Mr. Trump told leaders at a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting earlier Wednesday (May 14, 2025) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that he wants “to make a deal," but Tehran must end its support of proxy groups throughout the Mideast as part of any potential agreement.

The U.S. and Iran brokered a nuclear deal in 2015, during Democrat Barack Obama's administration, in which Iran agreed to reduce its stockpile of uranium drastically and only enrich up to 3.67%. But that deal was scrapped during the first Trump administration.

Today, Iran enriches up to 60%, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels, and has enough stockpiled for multiple nuclear bombs should it choose to build them.