US President Donald Trump said Tuesday night, May 18, that he would “hold off” on plans for a military strike against Iran, citing requests from the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as negotiations to end the conflict become more “serious.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had instructed military leaders “to be prepared to go forward with a full, large-scale assault on Iran at a moment’s notice” if no agreement is reached.
He said regional leaders were optimistic that a deal acceptable to both the United States and its Middle East allies could still be achieved.
“This deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN,” Trump wrote.
Later at the White House, Trump told reporters that the current talks appeared more promising than previous negotiation efforts.
“It’s a very positive development, but we’ll see whether or not it amounts to anything,” he said, noting that there had been earlier moments when US officials believed an agreement was close, “but this is a little bit different.”
According to a person familiar with the matter, Trump had been preparing to approve strikes on targets in Iran on Tuesday after reviewing military options presented by senior advisers. However, the president did not specify which targets were under consideration or how extensive the proposed operation would be.
Trump said Gulf states had asked him to delay the planned attacks for a few days, though he suggested the pause could last longer.
“We were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow. 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,” Trump said.
“I was asked by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and some others if we could put it off for two or three days, a short period of time, because they think they are getting very close to making a deal.”
While reiterating that Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon, Trump suggested the United States would support any peace proposal acceptable to Gulf allies. He added that other unnamed countries had also urged restraint.
“I was called by these three countries, plus others, and they’re dealing directly with our people and with Iran, and there seems to be a very good chance they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I’d be very happy,” he said.
Trump warned Iran on Sunday that “the clock is ticking” to reach an agreement or face a renewed military campaign that has been paused since last month.
However, according to a source familiar with the negotiations, Iran’s latest proposal failed to offer major concessions on key sticking points. Long-standing disagreements over nuclear enrichment remain central to the deadlock, the source said.
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