The United States is taking the uncharacteristic step under the Trump administration of assembling a coalition to address a foreign policy matter, seeking to unite allies to deter Iran from further aggression after an attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities.
Officials are tempering their rhetoric and insisting they were seeking a peaceful resolution.
It also emerged on Thursday that Washington had issued visas for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign minister, to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week. The visa grants will raise speculation that President Trump is preparing to meet the Iranian president on the sidelines of the world gathering.
Trump will hear Friday from advisers who will present target options for a strike against Iran.
However, Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, said the U.S. still wanted a peaceful resolution.
“We are still striving to build out a coalition in an act of diplomacy while the foreign minister of Iran is threatening all-out war and to fight to the last American,” he said after meeting Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. “We’re here to build up a coalition aimed at achieving peace.”
He offered no other details about the planned coalition and its aims.
Signatories to the Iran nuclear deal, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, have in the past expressed frustration about the U.S. decision to withdraw from the agreement. However, a senior European diplomat said they would welcome overtures to work together in response to the latest crisis.
“We’re happy to support a diplomatic response, especially if it reduces the likelihood of a military escalation,” he said.
President Trump discussed the issue with Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, on Wednesday.
“The President and the Prime Minister reaffirmed the value of the Special Relationship in addressing shared security concerns, most notably Iran’s destabilizing behavior,” according to a White House readout.
Over the weekend, Trump declared the U.S. to be “locked and loaded” to take action, but he has since softened his position, even suggesting he was in favor of Rouhani attending the U.N. next week.
“I’ve always felt the United Nations is very important,” he told reporters in Los Angeles. “I think it’s got tremendous potential. I don’t think it’s ever lived up to the potential it has, but I would certainly not want to keep people out if they want to come.”
Barbara Slavin, director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said allies such as France and the U.K. were not convinced the U.S. policy of “maximum pressure” was delivering results. But she added the shift away from noisy rhetoric was consistent with regional partners’ concerns about escalating tensions and Trump’s reluctance to engage in foreign conflicts.
“Trump is very risk averse and doesn’t want any kind of major American intervention in the region,” she said.
