US President Donald Trump has said fresh negotiations with Iran will begin on Monday after Gulf states urged Washington to halt planned military action and pursue diplomacy. …reports Asian Lite News Desk
US President Donald Trump has said negotiations with Iran will begin on Monday afternoon after several Middle Eastern countries urged Washington to suspend planned military action, claiming there was a viable path towards a diplomatic agreement.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while travelling to Joint Base Andrews, Trump said Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar had appealed to the United States to refrain from launching strikes because “they think there’s a deal.”
“There’s a deal on (the Strait of) Hormuz, and then there will be a deal on the nuclear, or you might call it the denuclearization of Iran,” Trump said.
He also claimed that Iran had requested the United States to pull back the planned military action.
“Now what we’re doing is we’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation,” Trump said.
The announcement follows Trump’s statement on Sunday that Washington had agreed to suspend a planned attack on Iran after Tehran and several Middle Eastern countries requested more time for diplomacy.
According to Trump, the United States remains prepared for military action but has chosen to pause operations while negotiations continue.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II.”
He added that Iran and other countries in the region had urged Washington to delay military action because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
According to Trump, the proposed agreement would include the “Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”
“Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL,” Trump said.
He also claimed that Israel supported the decision to pursue diplomacy rather than immediate military action.
Separately, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud spoke by telephone with Trump on Saturday and “expressed concern and asked for clarity” about the proposed US plan of action against Iran, a US official told Axios.
Calls for restraint have also come from several regional countries. Pakistan, Qatar, the UAE, Turkiye and others have urged both the United States and Iran to de-escalate tensions and avoid further conflict, according to Xinhua.
The latest developments come amid heightened regional tensions and renewed diplomatic efforts involving Gulf states seeking to prevent a wider military confrontation while encouraging negotiations over maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme.
