Diplomatic Dinners: A Truce on the Table?

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted a dinner in New York on Friday with the Qatari Prime Minister days after Israel's controversial strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, which risked undermining U.S.-backed truce efforts in Gaza. This move drew wide condemnation across the Middle East and beyond.

Trump conveyed his discontent with the strike to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reassured Qatar that such events would not recur. Joining Trump and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani was U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.

In a subsequent meeting at the White House, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed Qatar's mediation role and defense cooperation with al-Thani in light of escalating tensions following Israel's military actions.