RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Jan 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led efforts to talk US President Donald Trump out of an attack on Iran, a senior Saudi official told AFP on Thursday, with another Gulf official confirming the discussions.

The Gulf trio "led a long, frantic, diplomatic last-minute effort to convince President Trump to give Iran a chance to show good intention", the Saudi official said on condition of anonymity.

Some personnel were moved out of a major US military base in Qatar on Wednesday, and staff at US missions in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were warned to exercise caution as fears mounted of a US attack over Iran's crackdown on protesters.

The United States has repeatedly warned it could intervene against a deadly Iranian government crackdown on protests, while Tehran has said it would retaliate with strikes on US military and shipping targets.

Many US bases and assets are located in the Gulf.

Two diplomatic sources told AFP on Thursday that the security posture at Qatar's Al-Udeid Airbase had been lowered after a number of personnel had been told to leave on Wednesday over the regional tensions.

One source said the threat level on the base had fallen and gradually "planes have started moving back to position pre-Wednesday".

The second source said some military and other staff were also returning.

After the repeated threats Trump changed course, saying he had received assurances from "very important sources on the other side" that Iran would not execute demonstrators.

The Gulf efforts aimed to "avoid an uncontrollable situation in the region", the Saudi official said.

"We told Washington that an attack on Iran would open the way for a series of grave blowbacks in the region," the official added.

"It was a sleepless night to defuse more bombs in the region... the communication is still underway to consolidate the gained trust and the current good spirit."

The second Gulf official said "the message conveyed to Iran has been that an attack on US facilities in the Gulf would have consequences on relations with countries in the region".