WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that there was "positive momentum" toward ending the U.S.-Iran conflict after meeting with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani at the White House.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and other regional countries favored maintaining the current U.S. naval blockade of Iran alongside the newly launched Operation Iron Gate, which seeks to restrict Iran's land-based supply routes, Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
All these countries "would prefer the status quo," Trump wrote, adding that they all agree that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, which he called "non-negotiable." Iran has repeatedly maintained that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
Meanwhile, Trump warned that U.S. forces remain ready for further military action though the possibility of renewed military strikes on Iran is low.
"Should there be any change with respect to developments in the Middle East, the United States of America is 'locked and loaded' and ready to go," Trump said. "At this point, however, that seems to be quite unlikely."
"We are seeing positive momentum toward an end to this Conflict," Trump said, offering no details.
In a White House press conference on Monday, Trump also said that "Iran, militarily, is effectively over. We're just keeping it the status quo."
"At this point, taking the military action doesn't seem to be a very necessary thing," he added.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that diplomatic efforts had made little progress and that a breakthrough was not imminent. ■
