Trump calls off ‘full scale’ Iran attack that was ‘planned for tomorrow’

Donald Trump says he delayed a planned military strike on Iran after the Emir of Qatar, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and President of the UAE asked him to hold off, with “serious negotiations” now underway

Donald Trump has announced he will “hold off” on planned US attacks on Iran set for Tuesday (May 19), following requests from Gulf leaders.

In a social media post today (May 18) Trump stated that the Pentagon had postponed its “planned Military attack” on Iran, which he said “was scheduled for tomorrow”.

The delay was due to “serious negotiations” currently in progress, Trump said, adding that Gulf leaders had informed him they believed “a deal will be made”.

“This Deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!” he asserted in the post on Truth Social.

The president cautioned that Washington remained prepared for a “full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”, reports the Mirror.

In the post he said: “I have been asked by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow, in that serious negotiations are now taking place, and that, in their opinion, as Great Leaders and Allies, a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond.

“This Deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN! Based on my respect for the above mentioned Leaders, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, The Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Caine, and The United States Military, that we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”

Any US strike on Iran would signal the collapse of the delicate ceasefire agreed by both nations on April 8.

The development follows the President’s warning yesterday that the “clock is ticking”.

Esmail Baghaei, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, maintained Iran’s final proposal to the US was “responsible” and “generous”.

Hostilities commenced on February 28 following a combined US-Israeli strike on Iran. Pakistan has been attempting to broker talks between the US and Iran, yet both nations remain considerably distant from reaching an accord.

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