Trump postpones Iran strike at Gulf allies' request amid stalled talks
US President Donald Trump announced Monday that he had postponed a planned Tuesday military attack on Iran after direct appeals from Gulf leaders, given that “serious negotiations” are underway.
In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump said he decided to delay the strike by two to three days following direct requests from the Emir of Qatar, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and the President of the United Arab Emirates who assured him a diplomatic deal was close and would be “very acceptable” to the US and all countries in the Middle East.
The decision comes amid a period of stalled negotiations between Washington and Tehran, which have exchanged several proposals over recent weeks during a ceasefire that has mostly halted six weeks of fighting. The sudden postponement follows days of increasingly hostile rhetoric from Washington: just one day prior, Trump warned on social media that “the Clock is Ticking” and that “there won’t be anything left of them” if Iranian officials failed to reach an agreement.
Despite the delay, Trump noted that he had instructed top military officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Daniel Caine, to remain prepared for “a full, large-scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice” if an acceptable agreement is not reached. Military preparations had already been underway for a planned joint US-Israel attack. Officials told the New York Times that potential targets for Tuesday's strike included Iran's ballistic missile facilities.
The joint appeal by the Gulf states followed recent infrastructure attacks in the region. On Sunday, Emirati authorities condemned an “unprovoked terrorist attack” involving a drone strike on an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter of the UAE’s sole nuclear power plant. The same day, Saudi Arabia reported intercepting three drones entering its airspace from Iraq.
A source with knowledge of the discussions told Axios that Gulf leaders delivered a “unified message” to Trump, urging him to give negotiations a chance because the entire region would pay the price for a direct military strike. Meanwhile, Dania Thafer, executive director of the Washington-based Gulf International Forum, insisted that Gulf states “certainly do not want escalation in the region.”
The underlying diplomatic sticking points between the two nations remain severe. Washington demands that Tehran dismantle its nuclear program, curb its military capacity for nuclear weapons, and release its hold on the Strait of Hormuz. Conversely, Iran demands compensation for war damage, the release of frozen Iranian assets, an end to the US blockade of its ports, the lifting of foreign sanctions on its economy, and a halt to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
Mediation efforts are being led by Pakistan, which has been conveying messages between the warring sides since hosting a round of peace talks last month. A Pakistani source told Reuters that Islamabad had shared the latest diplomatic proposal with Washington but noted that progress has been difficult because both sides “keep changing their goalposts” and “we don’t have much time.”
ABC News reported that Trump has extended deadlines and postponed planned attacks on Iran at least half a dozen times since the conflict began. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that these “contradictory and excessive behaviors” of the US were a “serious obstacle” to diplomacy.