Resisting pressure from hawks to respond with force to the weekend attacks in Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump said today he was ordering more economic sanctions on Iran. Yet he also said he believes that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his delegation should be allowed to come to the UN General Assembly in New York next week. Trump’s comments expressing his desire to avoid an escalation come as European diplomats forge ahead with efforts to get the parties to the table at the UN to reduce tensions and avoid war with Iran.

“We definitely need to start a new phase where people will sit at the table and try to resolve issues,” a senior European diplomat at the UN said today. “We are actively pushing to make sure that reasonable decisions could be taken in the days, weeks, months to come. We would encourage all sides to change course of action and be reasonable.”

“If it was up to me, I would let them come,” Trump told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One in California today, when asked if Rouhani should come to the UN next week.

“I’ve always felt the United Nations is very important,” Trump continued. “I would certainly not want to keep people out if they want to come.”