Families living near American military bases in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman have spent months absorbing the consequences of a war fought partly on their doorstep. Iranian missiles and drones have struck the installations those bases anchor, disrupting daily life and rattling economies already strained by interrupted oil and natural gas exports. Next Tuesday in New York, the leaders of those six nations will sit down with President Trump to discuss what happens next.
The meeting, scheduled during the United Nations General Assembly, will give Gulf officials a direct line to the Trump administration as it begins laying out its postwar strategy, according to reporting from Axios on Wednesday. One source indicated the gathering could expand to include other Arab and Muslim leaders, though no final list has been confirmed.
The stakes for ordinary people across the Gulf are concrete. Energy exports that underpin government spending and employment have been disrupted by the nearly seven-month conflict. Security threats have been real and recurring, not abstract. For communities living alongside American military installations that have drawn repeated Iranian fire, the question of what phase comes next carries immediate, practical weight.
Meanwhile, the administration’s formal “day-after plan” for Iran will not be ready for public discussion until after the November midterm elections, Axios reported. Trump has recently suggested the war itself could wind down shortly after those contests conclude. Vice President JD Vance reinforced that timeline earlier this week, telling The Post that the conflict will shift into “a much different phase in a couple of months.” The postponement of the formal plan signals the administration wants to preserve flexibility in its messaging before election day.
The timing raises an open question for Gulf populations: how much of the postwar architecture will reflect their governments’ concerns, and how much will be shaped by American domestic politics?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also seeking a separate meeting with Trump during the General Assembly week in New York, though no session has been scheduled. The White House declined to comment when asked about the planned Gulf leaders meeting.
For the six nations whose territories have hosted American forces and absorbed Iranian retaliation, Tuesday’s gathering represents a rare chance to speak directly to the president during a critical planning window. Their governments can press for outcomes that address specific vulnerabilities, from the security of military installations to the restoration of energy trade routes that communities depend on. Whether those concerns shape the administration’s eventual postwar plan, or whether that plan arrives largely formed after the midterms, is the question Gulf leaders will be carrying into the room.