US President Donald Trump said on Monday he had canceled a planned US military strike on Iran on Tuesday, citing a “very good chance” of reaching a deal to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Gulf allies including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had urged Washington to delay the attack because of progress in negotiations with Iran.
He said US forces had been instructed to be prepared for a “full-scale, massive attack” if talks failed.
“There’s a very good chance they can get something done,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “If we could do that without bombing them, I would be very happy.”
Earlier, the US President had declared a six-week fragile ceasefire “on life support”.
Tehran’s nuclear program in focus
Iran confirmed that it had sent a new proposal to Washington through Pakistan.
Details of the proposal were not disclosed, although a senior Iranian source told Reuters news agency that it was largely similar to an earlier offer that Trump dismissed as “trash” last week.
One of the key speculations is Washington’s demand that Tehran halt its nuclear program and lift the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows.
For its part, Iran is demanding compensation for war damages as well as an end to all hostilities, including Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
Iran remains defiant
Iranian officials, meanwhile, remained defiant, warning against further American or Israeli attacks and saying Tehran was prepared to respond forcefully to any new aggression.
Khatam al-Anbia, Iran’s top commander of the Joint Military Command, said the country’s armed forces are “ready to pull the trigger” if the US launches new attacks, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
The episode is the latest sign that the ceasefire between the US and Iran (reached in early April) is under strain as both sides struggle to agree on terms to end the nearly 11-week conflict.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar