‘Have put off planned attack on Iran due to big discussion with Tehran’: US Prez Trump

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) said that he has “put off” a planned attack on Iran for a short period amid “big discussions” with the country over the ongoing West Asia crisis.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and some other countries had requested the US to delay the action for a few days as they believed negotiations were close to yielding a deal.

“I put it (attack on Iran) 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. 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 that they are getting very close to making a deal…It’s a very positive development, but we’ll see whether or not it amounts to anything,” said President Trump.

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

— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 18, 2026

Reflecting on his recent China visit and conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said, “President Xi was very complimentary of our military…We have the greatest military in the world. We’re not going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”

He further stated that multiple countries were directly engaging with US officials and Iran in an effort to resolve the situation diplomatically. “I was called by these three countries, plus others, and they’re dealing directly with our people and right now, Iran. There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I will be very happy,” said Trump.

Meanwhile, the United States Central Command on Monday said that it continues to strictly enforce the US blockade against Iranian ports. “CENTCOM continues to strictly enforce the U.S. blockade against Iranian ports. U.S. forces have now redirected 85 commercial vessels to ensure full compliance”, CENTCOM said in a post on X.

Earlier, President Trump turned down Iran’s peace proposal to stop the ongoing West Asia crisis, saying that it falls short of expectations and does not represent any meaningful progress towards a deal, according to Axios, citing a senior US official and a source briefed on the matter.

The development comes at a sensitive moment, with Washington weighing both diplomatic and military options as tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme continue to escalate. US officials say President Donald Trump is still seeking a negotiated settlement but is increasingly frustrated by Tehran’s refusal to accept what Washington considers essential concessions.

Iran’s latest counter-proposal was reportedly delivered on Sunday night through Pakistani mediators. According to a senior US official quoted by Axios, the revised text contains only limited changes compared to previous submissions. (ANI)