President Donald Trump abruptly announced Monday that he has called off new strikes on Iran scheduled for Tuesday due to requests from Saudi and Emirati leaders amid negotiations.
He said in a Truth Social post Monday afternoon that he instructed military leaders “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.”
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Trump had not previously publicly talked about any planned strikes for Tuesday, though he has repeatedly threatened to restart offensive military operations against Iran in light of the stalled negotiations.
The president did not specify how long he would give the negotiations before ordering the “large scale assault” or whether this was a legitimate plan and not an elaborate ruse to push the Iranians to be more willing to make concessions.
He said the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates asked him to “hold off on our planned Military attack on 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.”
The U.S. and Israel launched the opening attacks of the war on Feb. 28, and Trump declared a two-week ceasefire on April 7, as long as Iran began letting commercial vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas exports off its coast, which he had barred since the onset of the conflict.
There have been multiple instances in which Iranian troops have fired at commercial or U.S. naval vessels in the region as well.
The president has repeatedly extended the ceasefire, while Iran has not complied with its requirement to allow vessels to safely transit the strait, and as a result, the U.S. military launched its own blockade of Iranian ports so that Iran, too, would feel the economic burden its blockade is having on the global economy.
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After Trump announced an initiative in which U.S. Navy vessels would help guide commercial vessels through the strait, Iran carried out multiple attacks on commercial vessels and against the United Arab Emirates. U.S. officials said the attacks did not collapse the ceasefire, and the fear of renewed attacks on Gulf States could affect their push for Trump not to carry out new large-scale attacks.
The Trump administration is hoping to make a deal with Iran to end the conflict, but the Iranians have not capitulated to American demands.
