Trump meets Qatar PM as US-Iran dual track widens
Diplomacy and military escalation run in parallel, while Blinken warns Netanyahu on eroding Republican support.
Trump meets Qatar PM as US-Iran dual track widens — US President Donald Trump will meet today with Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani, as negotiations with Iran continue alongside an expanding military campaign.[^1] The meeting comes at a moment when the administration is simultaneously pursuing talks and tightening the noose: the U.S. military is expanding strikes on Qeshm Island, enforcing a naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman, and increasing pressure on land supply routes.[^2] Since January 2025, about two billion dollars worth of military equipment has been smuggled into Iran via land, a flow the blockade aims to cut.[^2] Trump himself dismissed the need for a ground invasion, saying of Iran's nuclear program: "It's buried under thousands of tons of rocks."[^1] He also declared that "the countries we defended will pay us the costs of the war with Iran, because without us they wouldn't exist. Without us, Israel wouldn't exist."[^1] Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking Sunday at the Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly in Washington, said he warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the spring of 2024 that Israel risked losing support among young Republicans and young evangelicals, alongside its mounting difficulties within the Democratic Party.[^3] The warning points to a shifting domestic political landscape in the U.S. that may complicate Israel's long-term bipartisan standing. Meanwhile, a booby-trapped drone struck the Kormor gas field in Iraqi Kurdistan on Sunday evening, sparking a fire and halting production at the UAE-operated facility.[^4] The attack threatens to cut power generation by an estimated 2,500 to 2,800 megawatts. Elsewhere, a mass shooting in Krakow's historic Old Town Main Square on Saturday killed six people and wounded 15.[^5] Local Jewish residents told reporters they still feel safe in Poland, but the attack has unsettled a city that prides itself on its openness. In Amsterdam, tens of thousands of protesters — Amnesty International put the number at about 220,000 — demanded the Dutch government impose additional sanctions on Israel.[^6] Protester Mike van Dongen said of the government: "A