US President Donald Trump met on Wednesday with Bahraini Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and addressed the press in the Oval Office.

Asked if the Gulf region was more secure following the Israeli and US operations against Iran, the Crown Prince confirmed that he definitely believes that the "volatility of the situation has been reduced." He added that "we didn't know where it was going to go on that Sunday, we were very glad when we found out on that Monday," referring to the Iranian reprisal strike on the US military base in Qatar and the ceasefire the next morning.

Regarding a nuclear deal with the Iranians, he stated: "Should the Iranians want to negotiate, the ball's in their court; that is the true reality of where we stand today. They are the ones who stand to benefit from a negotiation."

President Trump added: "They (the Iranians) want to negotiate badly. We're in no rush. We could have made a deal; they should have made a deal. And then we bombed the hell out of their various places. We're in no rush, but we're here."

During the remarks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the fighting in Syria between Israel, Syria, and the local Druze population: "These are historic, long-time rivalries, between different groups in southwestern Syria; the Bedouin and Druze communities. And it led to an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding, it looks like, between the Israeli side and the Syrian side."

He noted that "we've been engaged with them all morning long and all night long, with both sides, and we think that we're on our way towards a real de-escalation, and then hopefully we'll get back on track in helping Syria build a country and arriving at a situation in the Middle East that is far more stable."