Donald Trump said he pulled back from a planned “massive attack” on Iran over the weekend after key Middle East allies urged restraint and argued that a deal with Tehran may be within reach.
In a Saturday evening post on Truth Social, the president said the U.S. remained “locked and loaded” to strike, but that he had paused the operation in the hope of securing a peace agreement instead.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump confirmed that American partners in the region had pressed him to stand down, following reports that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman helped persuade him against immediate military action.
“I was asked to by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, by Qatar, and by Iran to hold off strikes. It would have been a massive attack. When the allies asked to call it off, you gotta say, ‘Well, let’s see.’ Allies think there is a deal,” Trump told the press.
The president said talks with Iranian officials are expected to begin tomorrow, raising the possibility of renewed diplomacy after a sharp escalation in tensions.
Trump added that the United States had prepared what he described as “the biggest attack since World War II,” warning that the operation would have been “disastrous” for Tehran.
“They didn’t want us to do it. And frankly, Saudi Arabia didn’t want it either. I thought a deal was imminent,” he said.
Trump said he spoke directly with the Saudi crown prince and made clear that he preferred negotiating a deal with Iran over launching an attack.
Donald Trump confirmed he called off a ‘massive attack’ on Iran this weekend because allies in the region convinced him a deal with Tehran is close
The president said on Truth Social on Saturday evening that although he remains ‘locked and loaded’ to launch an attack, he halted the strikes in hopes of reaching a peace deal
He said that there was no deadline to the deal getting done, clarifying that ‘we’ll just see how it is’ and ‘we’re ready to go any time I want.’
‘I’m not looking to kill people. People die, a lot of people die and we don’t want that.’
He also mused that an attack could potentially create refugees who could be ‘flooding’ the countries of American allies.
‘You don’t know where these attacks lead. Will they be flooded with people pouring into their country and disaster? A lot of bad things can happen.’
Trump added that he believes the deal will involve both Iran’s nuclear program – even suggesting calling it ‘the denuclearization of Iran’ – and a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The President also declined to comment on reports he was moving US troops out of Kuwait and Bahrain.
Trump was also asked about his threats to bring back the controversial $1.8billion weaponization fund if Todd Blanche is not confirmed as attorney general.
‘If they don’t approve Todd, I’d put it back on the table. A lot of people like it. A lot of big Trump supporters like it,’ he said.
Trump said he spoke specifically to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and confirmed his preference for dealmaking over an attack
Donald Trump said Saturday he has called off anticipated strikes on Iran this weekend ‘subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL’
Trump cited Senator John Cornyn, a lame duck in Texas, for holding it back because he supported victorious primary opponent Ken Paxton.
He also spoke to the press regarding the status of the FBI’s investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie and the spousal abuse accusations against Congressman Max Miller, among other topics.
Of Guthrie, Trump said the FBI ‘are involved, to an extent, but as you know, the local community really runs those things. Some people haven’t liked the way the local communities run it. They haven’t liked the way the sheriffs run it. We’re there any time they need us. It’s a terrible thing.’
Trump noted that he was ‘going to look into’ the case with Miller, a former senior advisor, but added that ‘so far, it’s just accusations.’
While he would not announce it publicly, he also confirmed he’s decided on a punishment for Canada over the recent wildfires spreading into the United States.
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He also confirmed the US will be intervening with the Japanese yen ‘because we have a good relationship with Japan.’
‘We’re very strong, very, very strong financially. Japan’s been very good to us, with the exception, of course, of Pearl Harbor,’ he added.
Trump deferred somewhat on questions regarding hacking by OpenAI and Anthropic and spoke of making $75billion in a deal with Intel ‘for the country.’
Smoke rises after reports of multiple U.S. strikes on the city, as loud explosions were heard according to the Iranian state TV
Israeli battle tanks deploy in the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah (Eastern Zawtar) in southern Lebanon as pictured from the nearby village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah
Sources told Axios that the Crown Prince urged Trump to defuse the situation, following days of tit-for-tat threats between the White House and Tehran.
In Trump’s Truth Social post on Saturday night, he threatened to unleash ‘power not seen since World War II’, but said he agreed to tentatively pause the attack.
‘We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to,’ Trump wrote.
‘This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.
‘Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL. The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment.’
Trump has been locked in meetings at Camp David in recent days, during which he vowed to hit Iran until they ‘can’t take it anymore’ and sources told several outlets that Trump had already green-lit strikes.
On Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president has grown frustrated with negotiations with Iranian officials.
Leavitt said the White House believed it made a breakthrough when it signed a memorandum of understanding last month, but Tehran promptly ‘broke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers.’
Donald Trump points a finger as he boards Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey
Trump has repeatedly claimed that his administration has control over the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway bordering Iran that typically sees over a fifth of global crude oil pass through it
‘President Trump is not going to stand by and allow this terrorist behavior to occur,’ Leavitt said in a statement on Friday evening.
‘Iran will continue to pay until they come to the table in, what President Trump deems, a meaningful way.’
Amid Trump’s threats to devastate Iran’s infrastructure, Iran responded on Friday night by naming potential targets of its own.
Iranian state-affiliated news agencies said Iran would go after energy infrastructure tied to the US and Israeli militaries, and a senior security official told Tasnim News that the IRGC had prepared ‘extensive response plans.’
Trump has repeatedly claimed that his administration has control over the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway bordering Iran that typically sees over a fifth of global crude oil pass through it.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has imposed a naval blockade, redirecting 30 commercial vessels, boarding two and disabling two others in recent weeks.
In the days leading up to Trump’s reversal on launching strikes, media outlets shared conflicting reports on the White House’s preparedness to attack.
The Wall Street Journal claimed that Trump had already given his approval for strikes that would begin as soon as Saturday evening, and set to last several days.
A report from CBS News also emerged on Friday which cited sources as saying that the US and Israel are preparing ‘one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date’ against Iran’s energy infrastructure.
However, Axios reported soon after that Trump ‘hasn’t given final orders to do it’, leaving the world waiting for his decision.
