Trump talks Iran's 'destabilising activities' with Gulf leaders

Trump talks Iran's 'destabilising activities' with Gulf leaders
US President Donald Trump held separate phone calls with the Saudi Arabia and UAE's powerful crown princes on Tuesday.
1 min read
28 February, 2018
Trump held separate phone calls with the Abu Dhabi and Saudi crown princes [Getty]

President Donald Trump spoke with senior Saudi and UAE leaders on Tuesday, discussing Iran's "destabilising activities" and other issues, Reuters reported.

In separate calls, Trump thanked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed for highlighting ways the Gulf states can "better counter Iranian destabilising activities and defeat terrorists and extremists".

Trump has been a sharp critic of Iran, and during the 2016 US presidential election he threatened to pull out of the P5+1 nuclear deal, between Tehran and world powers.

More recently in January, the US president said he would waive sanctions against Iran for the last time - giving Congress an ultimatum to "either fix the deal's disastrous flaws, or the United States will withdraw".

The Trump administration is also trying to solve the Gulf diplomatic crisis, which has pit Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and regional power Egypt against Qatar.

The four countries accuse Qatar of aiding Iran and supporting terrorism - a charge Doha strongly denies.

The two crown princes are scheduling a trip to Washington in March in April for separate bilateral meetings.