US president Donald Trump has claimed that Israel and the wider Middle East would not exist today had he not prevented Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, as Washington weighs the possibility of resuming military operations against Tehran. The development comes amid renewed diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.On Friday, in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump asserted that his intervention had prevented a threat to the region’s survival.“Israel and, in fact, the entire Middle East, WOULD NOT EXIST TODAY if I did not stop Iran from having a Nuclear Weapon. Nobody wants to say that, but everybody knows it’s true!” he wrote.The remarks come as Trump considers whether to authorise fresh military strikes against Iran. According to Fox News, the US President met his national security team on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the possible resumption of military operations.Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said Washington would soon “make a decision” on the matter. Questioning whether further strikes were necessary to ensure Iran’s nuclear programme was permanently dismantled, he said the objective was to ensure “it will never happen again”.“I would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible, but maybe I will have to. You’ll know soon enough,” Trump added.Separately, a US official told media outlets that the US Central Command (CENTCOM) was finalising preparations for a possible resumption of major military operations against Iran, although no formal orders had been issued by Washington.CENTCOM on Friday posted an image of an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft preparing for take-off at a military base in the Middle East. The command did not disclose the base’s location or the aircraft’s mission. The post came as Trump weighed further military action.Meanwhile, Trump spoke with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani by telephone on Friday to discuss efforts to ease regional tensions, according to a statement from the Qatari ruler’s media office.The two leaders discussed Qatar’s mediation efforts towards reaching “a comprehensive agreement that ends the crisis and achieves security and stability in the region”.Sheikh Tamim stressed “the importance of continuing dialogue and adopting diplomatic means to resolve disputes, sparing the region further escalation, and ensuring freedom of maritime navigation and the security of energy supplies”, the statement said.Qatar has been mediating between Washington and Tehran, with Gulf Arab states seeking to prevent a renewed escalation after coming under Iranian fire during the conflict.In a separate diplomatic development, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi told Trump during a telephone conversation on Thursday that Iraqi territory must not be used to launch attacks against neighbouring countries.“The Prime Minister affirmed Iraq’s position calling for respect for the sovereignty of states, non-use of its territories as a launchpad for aggression against neighbouring countries,” the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on X.