Newsmax: President Donald Trump said Sunday that he shelved what he described as a massive planned military strike against Iran after key Gulf allies urged him to give diplomacy more time.
He said that they believed a broader agreement was within reach.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning from Bedminster, New Jersey, to Joint Base Andrews, Trump said the canceled operation would have been “the biggest attack since World War II” and could have been “disastrous” for Iran.
“I was asked to by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, by Qatar, and by Iran to hold off strikes,” Trump said. “It would have been a massive attack.
“When the allies asked to call it off, you gotta say, Well, let’s see.”
Trump said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally urged him to pursue negotiations instead of military action.
“I asked the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, ‘What would you rather have us do?'” Trump said. “He said, ‘We would prefer a deal rather than an attack.'”
The president said Gulf leaders believe an agreement is close, pointing to ongoing efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and broader nuclear negotiations with Tehran.
“Allies think there is a deal,” Trump said. “There is a deal on Hormuz, and it will be a deal on the nuclear.”
Trump indicated the United States would give diplomacy a chance before deciding whether military action is necessary.
“We are just going to see whether or not we can make a deal,” he said.
Asked whether Iran faces a deadline to reach an agreement, Trump declined to set one.
“We will see,” he said. “I am not looking to kill people.”
Trump acknowledged there are competing views over how to handle Iran.
“There is a group of people who would love me to do it — just do it — and there is another group of people that does not want me to do it,” he said.
The president added that talks with Iran are set to resume Monday afternoon, expressing hope negotiations could avert further conflict.
“We are talking to them. It begins tomorrow afternoon,” Trump said. “It would save a lot of lives.”