Washington — President Trump said Monday that he’s called off a U.S. attack on Iran that had been “scheduled” for Tuesday, after the United States’ Gulf partners requested it to allow for continued negotiations.
The president made the announcement Monday afternoon on Truth Social, following a request from the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iran says it has relayed an amended set of terms for a possible deal to the Trump administration, through Pakistani mediators.
“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, in that serious negotiations are now taking place, and that, in their opinion, as Great Leaders and Allies, a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond,” Mr. Trump wrote.
“This Deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!” he continued in the post. “Based on my respect for the above mentioned Leaders, 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, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Speaking to reporters at the White House later Monday afternoon, the president was asked to expand on holding off the attack. The president said the aforementioned Gulf partners asked him for two or three days because they think they’re getting close to a deal.
“Well other countries have come to me … We were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow,” he told reporters. “I 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.”
Mr. Trump also extended his original April 7 ceasefire indefinitely at the request of Pakistan’s leaders.
During the ceasefire, the Pentagon has said that it has planned for the possibility of resuming strikes against Iran, if the president decided to do so.
Over the weekend, the president warned the “clock is ticking” for Iran to accept a peace agreement, saying there “won’t be anything left of them” if the leaders of the Islamic Republic don’t “get moving, FAST.”
The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, continuing to roil the oil market and affect the sectors that depend on it.
