Trump was planning to have the US begin referring to the Persian Gulf as the “Arabian Gulf.” But his plans shifted in the days that followed, CNN reported citing a source familiar with the talks, following public and official outcry over the controversial plan.
Speaking in a Riyadh conventional hall crowded with top Saudi and US officials including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, US President Donald Trump again vowed to deny Iran a nuclear bomb.
In the lengthy address, Trump excoriated Iran at length, accusing it of spreading militancy and war throughout the region and demanding it swiftly choose whether to accept a new nuclear deal.
"Our task is to unify against the few agents of chaos and terror that are left and that are holding hostage the dreams of millions and millions of great people," Trump said.
"The biggest and most destructive of these forces is the regime in Iran, which has caused unthinkable suffering in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, Yemen and beyond. There could be no sharper contrast with the path you have pursued on the Arabian Peninsula than the disaster unfolding right across in the Gulf in Iran."
Trump insisted he sought to end wars and unify enemies but that time was limited for Iran to accede to US demands on reaching a nuclear deal as talks completed a fourth round over the weekend.
"In the case of Iran, I have never believed in having permanent enemies. I am different than a lot of people think. I don't like permanent enemies ... I want to make a deal with Iran.
"But if Iran's leadership rejects this olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure drive Iranian oil exports to zero like I did before," Trump added, stopping short of explicitly mentioning an attack on Iran as he has previously.
"(The US will) take all action required to stop the regime from ever having a nuclear weapon."
The United States on Tuesday introduced fresh sanctions against a shipping network it says has sent millions of barrels of Iranian oil to China, the State Department announced.
The network facilitated "the shipment of millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil worth billions of dollars to China on behalf of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS) and its front company, Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars (Sepehr Energy)," the State Department's statement said.
The sanctions were imposed one day after Iran International reported that Sepehr Energy company worked on behalf of the Iranian military and spawned a network of shell companies to sell sanctioned Iranian oil to Asia and did business with a Netherlands-based firm that was aware of its government ties.
Business documents and emails obtained by Iran International revealed a layered network of shell companies used to mask the military links and channel the sanctioned oil through foreign intermediaries.
