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IN BRIEF
- Trump said the US was planning to attack Iran “tomorrow”.
- US authorities had refused to release “even 25 percent” of Iran’s frozen assets, Iranian media reported.
In a recent statement, President Donald Trump announced a pause on plans to resume military action against Iran, as the country continues to reject his calls to end the ongoing conflict. The announcement came on Tuesday, AEST.
President Trump revealed that he decided to delay the attack after requests from Gulf Arab allies. These allies have faced threats of retaliatory strikes from Iran if the United States and Israel resume their offensive, thereby ending a ceasefire that has lasted nearly six weeks.
Although Trump had previously extended the truce indefinitely, signaling a desire to withdraw from a politically challenging conflict, he had also indicated that preparations were underway for a new attack on Tuesday.
According to a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump stated that leaders from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates urged him to postpone the planned military action against Iran. They cited ongoing “serious negotiations” as a reason for the delay.
Trump expressed that these Gulf nations were optimistic about forging an agreement that would satisfy both the United States and the Middle East. Such an agreement, he emphasized, would ensure “NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!”
Trump threatens ‘large-scale assault’ on Iran if deal not reached
But Trump said he had instructed the US military 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.”
Iran has repeatedly rebuffed Trump’s offers on a deal and has exerted control over the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway into the Gulf, sending global oil prices spiralling.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed exchanges with the United States through mediator Pakistan and said Iran made clear its “concerns.”
The country, whose supreme leader was killed in the initial US-Israeli strikes on 28 February but has proven resilient, is demanding the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad and the lifting of long-standing sanctions.
Baqaei said Iran was also demanding reparations for the “illegal and baseless” war and was “fully prepared for any eventuality” if the United States resumes military action.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, considered a moderate in a system increasingly dominated since the war by the Revolutionary Guards, said that speaking with Washington in search of a deal was not to be viewed negatively.
“Dialogue does not mean surrender. The Islamic Republic of Iran enters into dialogue with dignity, authority, and the preservation of the nation’s rights, and will under no circumstances retreat from the legal rights of the people and the country,” he wrote on X.
On Sunday, Iran’s Fars news agency said the US had presented a five-point list, which included a demand for Iran to keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States.
US authorities had refused to release “even 25 percent” of Iran’s frozen assets or pay any reparations for war damage, Fars said.
But Iran’s Tasnim news agency, citing an unnamed source close to the Iranian negotiating team, said on Monday that the United States made one new step forward in the latest text by agreeing to waive oil sanctions during a negotiation period.
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