President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he was just an hour away from launching a military strike on Iran this week, but was persuaded to delay the attack by Gulf allies. Speaking during a press conference outside the White House, Trump stated, "We were all set to go. You're talking about yesterday? We were going to be striking very – it would have been happening right now." He added, "Yeah, it was all done. The boats, the ships were all loaded. They were all loaded to the brim and we were all set to start."
Allies' Intervention
When asked how long Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar had known about his plans, Trump responded, "They knew I was getting ready to attack. I didn't tell them. I never tell anybody when. I never tell anybody when, but they knew that we were very close. I would say I was an hour away from making the decision to go today, and we would probably not be talking about a beautiful ballroom today, we'd be talking about that." The president said he decided to hold off after receiving calls from the leaders of those countries. "They said, 'Sir, could you give us a couple more days because we think they're being reasonable,'" Trump recounted.
Trump's Truth Social Post
Trump's remarks came a day after he elaborated on the exchange in a post on Truth Social. He wrote, "I have been asked by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold off on our planned Military attack of 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, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond." This post contrasted sharply with his earlier warning to Iran on Sunday: "For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won't be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!"
