Amid open threats traded by US President Donald Trump and the Iranian Islamic regime, it has been learnt that Gulf diplomacy was at the centre of American decision to give Iran "a chance".
A senior Saudi official revealed to AFP that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led the diplomatic efforts to convince Trump to call off his potential attack on Iran.
Riyadh, Doha and Muscat led a "long, frantic, diplomatic last-minute effort" to persuade Trump to give Tehran "a chance to show good intention" and "avoid an uncontrollable situation in the region," the official told the news agency.
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The Saudi official said they told Trump that attacking Tehran would lead to "grave blowbacks in the region."
"It was a sleepless night to defuse more bombs in the region... the communication is still underway to consolidate the gained trust and the current good spirit," he added.
On the other hand, Iran was warned that attacking US facilities in the Middle East would deteriorate its ties with regional powers, said another official from the Gulf.
This came after the Trump repeatedly warned Iran that the US could intervene if the Islamic regime executes protesters. Iran threatened to attack US bases in the Middle East, prompting Washington to pull out some troops from Qatar's Al Udeid air base and other locations.
Later, Trump said he was assured by "very important sources on the other side" that Iran would not execute demonstrators.
