Trump Calls Off Major Strike, Says US-Iran Negotiations Begin Monday
US President Donald Trump has stated that the negotiation process with Iran will begin on Monday. The decision was taken after he chose to postpone a new attack on the Islamic Republic in order to pursue a peace deal.
“Obviously, they don’t want to be attacked. They know how big the attack was going to be because they saw it being prepared,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
“Now what we’re doing is talking to them in the form of negotiations. That starts tomorrow afternoon,” he added, without providing further details on the location or the parties involved in the talks.
Earlier on Saturday, Trump withdrew his threat of a large-scale attack on Iran. He said the strike had initially been prepared to be the largest since the Second World War, but he judged that the framework of a peace deal was now in sight.
Trump explained that the postponement of the attack was carried out at the request of Iran as well as America’s partner nations, namely Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
“When the allies ask you to call it off, you have to say ‘let’s see’. And the reason they asked for that is because they think there’s a deal that can be made,” Trump said.
“There’s a deal on the Strait of Hormuz, and then there’s going to be a deal on the nuclear issue, or what you could call the denuclearisation of Iran.”
He reiterated how devastating the impact of the cancelled attack plan would have been.
“It would take years to rebuild it, if indeed it could be rebuilt — I don’t think it could even be rebuilt,” Trump asserted.
Trump also revealed that the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, urged him to call off the attack out of concern over unforeseen consequences.
“I mean, are they going to be flooded with people coming into their country and facing disaster? A lot of bad things could happen,” Trump said.
The armed conflict began on 28 February when the US and Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran, although fluctuating diplomacy had briefly brought a period of calm.
A previous ceasefire agreement, which included the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as a vital global energy supply route, collapsed. Since then, Iran has tightened its control over the key waterway as attacks between the two countries resumed in recent weeks.