US President Donald Trump on Tuesday revealed that he was just “an hour away” from ordering fresh strikes on Iran before he announced the “hold off” at the request of his Gulf allies. US naval warships were reportedly armed and ready for the operation against Iran.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he hoped not to resume the war, but added that the US “may have to give them another big hit.”
The US President said that he would maybe wait two or three more days before deciding on resuming the military offensive against Iran.
“Well, I mean, I’m saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday; something maybe early next week — a limited period of time,” he added.
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Trump, who was supposed to hold a meeting with his top national security team on Tuesday, reportedly conducted the briefing on Monday evening. The meeting also included a discussion on military options, Axios reported, citing two US officials.
The meeting reportedly lasted for several hours after Trump announced that he was delaying the planned strikes on Iran.
While Trump does not wish to resume the war and wants a deal to end the conflict, he has asked the US military to remain prepared for a full-scale offense.
The US President had not actually decided to hold off the strikes planned for Tuesday, officials reportedly said. Trump said he had been “an hour away” from giving the order, Axios reported.
In the briefing on Monday evening, Vice President JD Vance, state secretary Marco Rubio, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs chairman General Daniel Caine, CIA director John Ratcliffe and other senior officials were present.
The meeting reportedly focused on the next steps in the Iran war, the status of peace talks, and military plans for strikes on the Islamic Republic.
Several Iranian officials who have spoken to Trump since his ‘hold off’ announcement on Monday reportedly got the impression that “he is in the mood of cracking their head open to get them to move in the negotiations.”
While announcing his decision to hold off strikes on Monday, Trump said the premiers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had told him that “serious talks” were taking place now, assuring him that a “deal will be made.”
The mediators are working to get Iran to present a more flexible stance on that deal, one that addresses the US’s nuclear demands, the Axios report stated.
Vance says ‘lot of progress’ made in talks
US Vice President JD Vance said at a White House press briefing on Tuesday that a “lot of progress” has been made in the US-Iran peace talks, adding that things are in a “pretty good spot”.
Vance said that Trump does not want to resume the war, but his second option to deal with the situation is to restart the military campaign to achieve America’s objectives.
Despite the hopes for a deal, Vance said that the US is “locked and loaded”. The vice president said, “We don’t want to go down that pathway, but we will if we are pushed to.”
