WASHINGTON/DUBAI/KARACHI — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he suspended a planned military strike against Iran after Gulf allies urged Washington to give diplomacy more time, as negotiations aimed at ending the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Tehran continued.
Trump said Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates appealed for restraint, expressing confidence that a negotiated settlement remained possible.
“We will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow,” Trump said in a public statement, adding that he had nevertheless instructed the U.S. military to remain prepared to launch a “full, large scale assault” if talks fail to produce an acceptable agreement.
The planned strike had not previously been disclosed publicly, and Reuters said it could not independently confirm whether military preparations had been finalized.
Trump said Gulf leaders requested the delay because they believed “a Deal will be made” that would be acceptable to both the United States and countries across the Middle East. The appeal highlighted the growing diplomatic role of Gulf states seeking to prevent a broader regional conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil shipping route disrupted during the war.
The announcement followed confirmation from Iran that a revised peace proposal had been delivered to Washington through Pakistani mediation. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran’s position had been conveyed to the United States but provided few details.
A Pakistani source familiar with the negotiations confirmed Islamabad had relayed the latest proposal, while cautioning that progress remained difficult.
“The sides keep changing their goalposts,” the source said, adding that time for a diplomatic breakthrough may be running short.
Despite renewed talks, Iranian officials maintained a defiant posture. State media warned against what Tehran described as further U.S. or allied “strategic mistakes,” while Iran’s joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya, declared its forces ready to respond decisively to any renewed attack.
Commander Ali Abdollahi said any renewed aggression would be met “quickly, decisively, powerfully, and extensively,” according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
According to a senior Iranian source, Tehran’s latest proposal focuses on ending hostilities, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and easing maritime sanctions, while postponing disputes over Iran’s nuclear program and uranium enrichment to later negotiations.
The source also claimed Washington had shown greater flexibility by considering partial access to frozen Iranian assets and allowing limited civilian nuclear activity under international supervision. U.S. officials have not confirmed those claims.
Tasnim separately reported that Washington had agreed to suspend oil sanctions during negotiations, though a U.S. official rejected the report as false.
A fragile ceasefire remains in place after six weeks of conflict following U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. Regional tensions, however, continue to simmer amid drone activity and renewed security concerns across Gulf states.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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