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NEW YORK – a Senior Saudi diplomat said Tuesday that a major attack this month on his country’s oil infrastructure was an” act of war ” by Iran, but he downplayed the notion that Saudi and U.S. forces are preparing to fight their own military strikes against Iran.

“We want to be sure that we will avoid war at all costs, but we are not going to sit there with our hands tied while the Iranians continue to attack us,” foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a world meeting on Wednesday as diplomats try to determine whether Tehran will further escalate – or perhaps ease-tensions that have soared since the September 14 attack on Saudi Arabia triggered a spike in global oil prices .

The prospect of a face-to-face meeting this week between Mr. trump and Mr. Rouhani seemed dim on Tuesday, although the Iranian President said he would consider whether the trump administration would waive sanctions it imposed on Tehran after Pulling the U.S. out of the country’s nuclear deal with Iran in 2015. The Iranian President told Fox News that a meeting is unlikely because no diplomatic or political preparations have been made to clear the ground for such a discussion.

In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Mr. trump made it clear that he has no plans to ease any sanctions after the attack on Saudi Arabia. “As long as Iran’s threatening behavior continues, sanctions will not be lifted,” the President said.

But there are signs that Mr. trump is scrambling behind the scenes to try to devise a back channel for Mr. Rouhani that could at least defuse heightened tensions.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday that Mr. trump personally asked him during a closed-door meeting to help the mediators and that he responded by immediately reaching out to Mr. Rouhani.

“We’re trying our best,” he said. “Trump asked me if we could de-escalate the situation and maybe come up with another deal. … I can’t say anything more now on the subject, except that we’re trying.”

Later on Tuesday evening, French President Emmanuel macron, after meeting with Mr trump and Rouhani, said there were conditions for a “rapid resumption of talks” between the two countries on Iran’s nuclear program and regional security, and it was UP to the US and Iran to “seize on those conditions.”

In a speech earlier in the day, macron said the attack on Saudi Arabia made new talks with Iran more relevant.

U.S. officials were careful not to close the option completely.

Asked if the U.S. and Iranian presidents could meet this week, U.S. assistant Secretary of state for Middle East Affairs David Schenker noted that Iranian foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has already ruled it out.

But, Mr. Schenker added, “as we know, Mr. trump is willing to talk to anyone. He meets with North Koreans. I’m sure he said he was ready to meet with Rouhani.”

Trump administration officials have blamed Iran directly for the September 14 drone and cruise missile strikes that crippled Saudi Arabia’s oil production capabilities, although they have no concrete evidence. European countries that opposed Mr. trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal also said they believed Iran was responsible for the attack.

Mr al-Jubeir described the announcement as “a very significant step forward in terms of the European position.” He said it showed that Britain, France and Germany could be aligned with the us-Saudi drive to isolate Iran.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure.

The Saudi-led coalition is waging a sustained bombing campaign against the Houthis. Human rights organizations blame Riyadh for civilian deaths and a massive humanitarian crisis.

Mr al-Jubeir said Riyadh believed Iran, located in Northern Saudi Arabia, was “responsible for the attack because the equipment is Iranian equipment.”

“We know he didn’t come from the South. We know this because of the range of equipment, ” he said. “We believe he came from the North. We’re sure it came from the North and what we’re doing now is investigating to find the actual spaceport.”

The trump administration has said for months that its “maximum economic pressure” campaign is aimed at pushing Tehran into talks that address more than the nuclear issues covered by the 2015 agreement, which eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for proven restrictions on its nuclear activities.

Brian hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, delivered a message to the trump administration about “comprehensive negotiations”in a speech Monday night in new York.

The 2015 deal “was not comprehensive enough,” said Mr. hook at the Asian society think tank. “The Islamic Republic’s destabilizing ballistic missile program, support for terrorism, and illegal detention of American citizens were not part of the agreement and were not put on the table after the agreement.”

Some hardliners close to Mr. Trump are calling for a General regime change in Tehran.

Former new York city mayor and trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph Giuliani said as much during a speech Tuesday at a street rally led by a group of dissident Iranian exiles outside the U. N. headquarters.

“I am acting in my personal capacity. I’m for regime change. Fucking tyrants in Iran! Down with the Ayatollah, the mullahs and all the crooks!”Mr. Giuliani told the audience that, according to the Asharq al-Awsat news Agency.

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo delivered a more diplomatic message at a special meeting between U.S. officials and several Arab leaders at the Palace hotel in new York.

Officials said the meeting of senior diplomats from Gulf cooperation Council countries – including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar-would be key to the trump administration rallying the region against Iran and its Allies.

The effort has struggled to gain momentum over the past year because of infighting among Gulf cooperation Council members, especially the Saudis and Qataris, whom Riyadh and others accuse of being too close to Iran and supporting jihadist movements into the middle East.

Qataris deny the allegations and say there was little sign in a speech by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani that Doha is seeking to bridge differences with Riyadh, which has been working with the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain since 2017 to impose an ade block on flights, shipping and land transport to Qatar.

Mr Rouhani, meanwhile, is expected to take advantage of the acrimony in his UN speech with a proposal to middle Eastern powers to queue up for a new regional security plan led by Iran. The plan is reported to focus on creating an anti-American Maritime security paradigm for the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping channel in the Persian Gulf.

Some American analysts scoffed at the idea.

Mr. Rouhani’s proposal is “ludicrous,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the defense of democracies, a think tank known for its tough stance against Iran’s government.

“The Islamic Republic has for the past four years posed the greatest threat to Maritime security, freedom of navigation and the Strait of Hormuz,” Mr. Taleblu said in an interview. “It will be of key importance for Washington to challenge Iran’s narrative at every step, while considering its closest partners and allies. So “maximum pressure” can achieve a diplomatic victory.”