Summary of this article
Donald Trump said he postponed planned US strikes on Iran after requests from leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE amid ongoing negotiations with Tehran.
Trump said discussions with Iran were “very serious” and could lead to a deal ensuring that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons.
The US president warned that while military action has been paused for now, American forces remain prepared for a “full, large scale assault” if talks fail.
US President Donald Trump has said he halted fresh strikes on Iran at the request of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, asserting that serious discussions were underway with Tehran that could lead to an acceptable deal.
Without mentioning Pakistan, the US-Iranian conflict mediator, Trump made the statement on Truth Social late on Monday.
“I have been asked by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday),” Trump said.
"We were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow. I've put it off for a little while, hopefully, maybe forever, but possibly for a little while, because we've had very big discussions with Iran and we'll see what they amount to," Trump told reporters at the White House.
Trump said he was asked by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and some others if the US could put it off for 2 or 3 days, a short period of time, because they think that they are getting very close to making a deal. “And if we can do that where there's no nuclear weapon going into the hands of Iran, I think, and if they're satisfied, we will be probably satisfied," he said.
According to the US President, serious negotiations are already underway, and they believe that as Great Leaders and Allies, a deal will be reached that will be very acceptable to both the US and all other countries in West Asia and beyond. According to Trump, "no nuclear weapons for Iran" will be part of the agreement.
"I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, The Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Caine, and The United States Military, that we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment's notice, if an acceptable Deal is not reached," he said.
According to two US sources who spoke to Axios, Trump was scheduled to meet his top national security team in the Situation Room on Tuesday to talk about military options.
Before his announcement, Trump spoke on the phone with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, two sources with knowledge said, according to Axios. For weeks, Trump has been threatening to cancel the truce that was agreed in the middle of April if Iran did not strike a deal, with changing conditions for doing so. “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won't be anything left of them,” the US President said over the weekend.
Trump said the current pause for negotiations was a “very positive development," while acknowledging there were times in the past when a deal seemed close but nothing came of it. “But this is a little bit different,” he said.
The US and Israel launched the war with Iran on February 28, with Trump claiming that it would end in four to six weeks. The US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire on April 8 and have been negotiating a peace deal since then.
