President Donald Trump listens during an event about prescription drug prices in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus. (Photo: AP)
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he had paused a planned attack against Iran after Tehran sent a peace proposal to Washington, and that there was now a “very good chance” of reaching a deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump said he had instructed the military not to go ahead with what he described as a scheduled attack.
In a post to his Truth Social platform, the US president claimed that the leaders of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia had approached Washington because of the chance of reaching a deal that would be “very acceptable” to the US, and preclude Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“We will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow,” he wrote, adding that forces should be ready for a “full, large scale assault… on a moment’s notice” if an acceptable deal is not reached.
He later told reporters there was a “very good chance” of an agreement that would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. “If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I would be very happy,” he said.
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(Photo: @realDonaldTrump)
Reuters said it could not confirm any earlier announcement of such an attack.
Talks and mediation
Iran said it had sent its position to Washington through Pakistan. Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran’s views were “conveyed to the American side through Pakistan” without giving details.
A Pakistani source told Reuters that talks have been difficult, saying both sides “keep changing their goalposts”.
Trump said leaders from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had asked him to hold off, expressing hope that a deal could be reached.
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Iran response
Iran signalled it is focused on ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and said it has not discussed details of its nuclear programme.
State media carried warnings from Iran’s military that it was ready to respond to any attack. The Khatam al-Anbiya command said forces were “ready to pull the trigger” if needed. Commander Ali Abdollahi was quoted as saying any renewed attack would be met “quickly” and “decisively”.
Sanctions and proposal details
An Iranian source said the proposal includes steps to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift maritime sanctions. The source also said the United States had shown some flexibility, including possible release of part of Iran’s frozen funds and allowing limited peaceful nuclear activity under international supervision.
REPORTER: "Can you speak a little bit about your, post on Truth Social on Iran? And what was the decision … why you didn't attack… ?"
PRESIDENT TRUMP: "Well, other countries have come to me and they've said… We were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow. I've… pic.twitter.com/PagwcXDAAo
The United States has not confirmed these points. A US official also rejected a report that oil sanctions would be waived during talks.
A ceasefire remains in place after weeks of fighting following US-Israeli strikes earlier this year, though drone incidents in the region have continued.
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President Donald Trump listens during an event about prescription drug prices in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus. (Photo: AP) 
