President Donald Trump said that the United States was prepared to launch a military strike on Iran on Monday before he decided to hold off and give negotiations more time.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said the attack was effectively ready to begin before he paused the operation. “How close were you to striking Iran?” a reporter asked.
“I was an hour away. We were all set to go... You’re talking about yesterday. It would have been happening right now. The ships were all loaded to the brim and we were all set to start,” Trump replied.
Trump also stated that a deadline had been given to Iran to return to the negotiating table: "Two or three days. Maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Maybe early next week. A limited time period."
The comments came as Trump confirmed on Truth Social on Monday that he had delayed a planned military operation after requests from Gulf leaders. “I have been asked by the Emir of Qatar, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and the President of the United Arab Emirates to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow,” Trump wrote.
Trump said the leaders told him negotiations with Tehran were still active and that a potential agreement being discussed could satisfy US demands. He added that he had been informed a deal may be reached that is “very acceptable” to Washington and reiterated one of his key demands, writing: “NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!”
According to Axios, White House officials had grown increasingly convinced in recent days that military action was imminent after an updated peace proposal from Iran was viewed as insufficient. Two US officials told the outlet Trump was expected to meet with his national security team in the Situation Room on Tuesday to review military options.
A senior US official also told Axios that if Iran did not materially change its negotiating position, talks would continue “through bombs." Trump later told reporters he viewed the latest developments cautiously. “It’s a very positive development, but we’ll see whether or not it amounts to anything,” he said.
“We've had periods of time where we had, we thought, pretty much getting close to making a deal, and it didn't work out. But this is a little bit different.”
Trump said there appears to be “a very good chance” of reaching an agreement with Iran without military escalation. “If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I would be very happy,” he said.
The BBC reported Trump warned the US remains prepared to move quickly if talks collapse, saying the country is ready to “go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment's notice.”
