Trump Hosts Gulf Leaders Amid Renewed Mideast Violence

President Donald Trump hosted a pair of Arab Gulf leaders at the White House on Wednesday as violence between Israel and Syria renewed doubts about his pledge to impose peace on the Middle East.

- Associated Press

Trump held a meeting in the Oval Office with Bahrain’s crown prince and dined privately with Qatar’s prime minister.

The Republican president has lavished attention on the Persian Gulf, a wealthy region where members of his family have extensive business relationships. He has already visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on the first foreign policy trip of his second term.

With little progress to share on the region’s most intractable problems, including the war in Gaza, Trump was more focused Wednesday on promoting diplomatic ties as a vehicle for economic growth.

“Anything they needed, we helped them,” Trump said in the Oval Office while meeting with Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. “And anything we needed, they helped us.”

Bahrain is a longtime ally that hosts the US Fifth Fleet, which operates in the Middle East.