Donald Trump will visit the United Arab Emirates later. He’s already made news this morning in Qatar, saying a deal to stop Iran getting a nuclear weapon was „sort of“ done – a claim Iran’s president swiftly denied. Watch live below as he speaks to troops in Doha.
Thursday 15 May 2025 10:23, UK
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Donald Trump has now arrived at the base, but he’s still not up on stage just yet.
However, his decision to come to Al Udeid is significant, our US correspondent Mark Stone says.
„This is the largest American airbase in the Middle East, it’s very important strategically for the Americans.“
Stone, who is at the base, adds „it is from here that America fought its war in Afghanistan and the two wars in Iraq as well“.
As we explained in our previous post, Trump’s podium has been positioned under a banner which says „peace through strength“.
„For Trump, through that message of peace through strength, he believes that it is still a very important strategic asset,“ Stone says.
While we wait for Donald Trump, here’s the scene at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as US troops gather to hear from their president.
We can already see the podium where Trump will speak from, flanked by Qatari and US flags and under a sign which says „peace through strength“.
Remember, you can watch along in the stream at the top of this page. We’ll also be bringing you updates as soon as he starts talking.
We’re expecting to see Donald Trump speaking to US troops in a hangar at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in the next few moments.
It’s a key strategic point for the US military, with wars against Afghanistan and Iraq once conducted from the base.
You can watch along in the stream at the top of this live page. We’ll also be providing text updates right here.
Donald Trump also gave an update on US military jets while speaking to business leaders in Doha this morning.
He said the US is examining the possible development of a twin-engine warplane, which would be known as the F-55.
That would be as well as an upgrade to its Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, which it calls the F-22 Super.
We’re expecting to see Trump speak to troops in a hangar at Al Udeid Air Base later this hour, and we’ll be bringing you live text updates.
It’s the last event from the US president in Qatar before he heads to the United Arab Emirates later this morning.
We’ve brought you comments from Donald Trump on Iran this morning, with the US president saying he thinks a nuclear deal with the country is very close.
He said Iran has „sort of“ agreed to the terms, and went on to say they can’t have a nuclear weapon (see 8.04 post).
It came after reports that a top Iranian official said the country is prepared to make a number of concessions related to its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
But Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has rejected what Trump had to say, describing him as „naive for thinking he can come to our region, threaten us, and hope that we back down against his demands“.
„We will never negotiate our dignity, this is in the blood of every Iranian,“ Pezeshkian said, according to Iranian media.
Just before Donald Trump started talking at the business event in Doha, his secretary of state Marco Rubio was speaking at a NATO meeting in Turkey.
Rubio said Trump is open to „any mechanism“ that would result in a just peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
He added that the US wants to see progress made in the coming days, saying – as he has often done – that there is no military solution to the conflict.
Remember – Vladimir Putin won’t be attending talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul, despite a direct challenge from the Ukrainian leader to do so.
Instead, Russia has sent a delegation of officials for talks with Ukraine.
It was Putin who originally suggested direct Russia-Ukraine talks at the weekend.
On the day it was hoped Vladimir Putin would meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Turkey for peace talks, Russia’s president will not be attending.
But Donald Trump doesn’t seem particularly surprised by that.
Responding to a question about Putin’s no-show today, Trump said: „Why would he go if I’m not going?
„I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to go if I’m not there.“
Follow all the latest on the Russia-Ukraine talks below…
In his wide-ranging meeting, Donald Trump is now speaking about Apple.
He says he’s spoken to Apple chief executive Tim Cook in the past few days after reports of Apple aiming to make most of its iPhones sold in the US at factories in India by the end of 2026.
Trump says he told Cook he doesn’t want Apple to build in India.
It comes days after Trump said he spoke to Cook after the US and China agreed to suspend most tariffs for 90 days.
„I spoke to Tim Cook this morning, and he’s going to, I think, even up his numbers,“ Trump said in the Oval Office before setting off for the Middle East.
„He’s going to be building a lot of plants in the United States for Apple, and we look forward to that.“
Just now in Doha, he again says Apple is upping its production in the US.
Trump adds he’s „not interested“ in Apple having factories in India – but the company itself may have its own view on whether that’s workable…
With the media assembled as Donald Trump speaks at the business event in Doha, he’s covering a lot of topics.
The US president now turns to Iran, and says he thinks the US is getting very close to a nuclear deal with the country.
He explains that Iran has „sort of“ agreed to the terms, and goes on to say they can’t have a nuclear weapon.
„We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust,“ he says.
„It’s very simple,“ Trump adds, before adding that he wants them to succeed.
It comes after reports that a top Iranian official has said the country is prepared to make a number of concessions related to its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Ali Shamkhani, a top political, military and nuclear adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spoke to Sky News‘ US partner NBC News.
He said Tehran was willing to commit to never making nuclear weapons again, getting rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, which can be weaponised, agree to only enrich uranium to the lower levels needed for civilian use and allow international inspectors to supervise the process.
This was in exchange for the prospect of the immediate lifting of all economic sanctions on the country.
We’re just hearing from Donald Trump, who is speaking in Doha at a business leaders event.
He has been talking about Syria after his meeting with the country’s president yesterday.
„I met the new leader of the country and he’s got a strong past and I liked him a lot, I think he’ll be a great representative.“
Ahmed al Sharaa is a one-time insurgent leader who spent years imprisoned by US forces after being captured in Iraq.
He was named president of Syria in January, a month after an offensive by insurgent groups led by his Hayat Tahrir al Sham, or HTS, stormed Damascus and ended the 54-year rule of the Assad family.
He goes on to describe al Sharaa as a „strong guy“ who has also had a „strong past“.
But Trump is also full of praise for the US, describing his country as „hot as a pistol“.
„If you go back six months, it was the exact opposite,“ he adds.
„We had a man that couldn’t even stand up, but we’ve turned it around so quickly.“
Watch Trump’s comments on the meeting below:
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