President Donald Trump is accused of instigating a feud between two U.S. allies with a secret phone call—before offering to use his peacemaking skills to settle it.
Trump, 79, allegedly called the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in November to discuss a private conversation he had with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, The New York Times reported Friday.
Both neighboring nations, which have business ties to Trump’s family and are considered powerful U.S. allies, have grown increasingly divided, backing opposing sides in violent conflicts in Yemen and Sudan.
During the call, the U.S. president is said to have escalated tensions by telling Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, 64, that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 40, had asked him to impose sanctions on the Emirates during his trip to the White House that month—an encounter Trump described as “more than a meeting.”
Trump told the Emirati leader “that his friends were out to get him, but that Mr. Trump had his back,” the Times reported, citing two sources familiar with the conversation.
The sanctions were allegedly requested because of the Emirati government’s support for the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces in the Sudanese civil war, which has drawn international criticism for committing human rights violations in the region.
Although accounts of what the Saudi crown prince said to Trump differ—with a Saudi official telling the Times that the crown prince requested sanctions against the armed group rather than the Emirates directly, and a White House official stating that such a request never occurred—the information Trump shared during his phone call still managed to infuriate senior Emirati officials.
Since the phone call, Emirati leadership is convinced that the Saudi crown prince requested sanctions against the country, and tensions have escalated.
The fallout from bin Salman’s visit to Washington, D.C. was made clear in December when a UAE-backed group in Yemen launched a sudden strike near the Saudi border, which the Saudi government claimed threatened their national security and believed was orchestrated by the Emirati government in response to anger over Trump’s sanctions call.
The revelations of Trump’s tension‑sparking phone call come as the president has become more involved in the Middle East, with his inner circle working to halt his plans to start a war with Iran.
When asked if he was involved in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the UAE earlier this month, Trump said no but added, “That’s an easy one to settle.”
“I could settle it very easily,” he said. “I settle wars, I settle a lot of rifts with countries. You’ve been noticing, right?”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
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