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

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.

The truce promised to bring an end to a 12-day conflict that saw the U.S. strike Iranian nuclear facilities, and ballistic missiles fired at Israeli cities.