In public, Qatar was insisting on the right to defend itself after Iran attacked a U.S. military site in the emirate. Behind the scenes, it was already mediating a truce between Israel and Iran.

President Trump and VP Vance "coordinated at the highest level" with Qatar's emir and premier, a diplomat told Newsweek.

In the hours after Iran launched a missile attack on a US base in Qatar, President Donald Trump and a group of his top diplomatic and security officials worked furiously behind-the-scenes to try to broker a peace deal to end the conflict between Iran and Israel.