President Donald Trump said Iran has only a short window remaining to negotiate a deal with the United States before previously paused military strikes could move forward.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran has only a limited amount of time remaining to present an acceptable proposal to the United States before military operations against the country could resume.
Speaking to reporters near the White House construction site where work continues on the administration’s ballroom and underground expansion project, Trump disclosed that he had delayed planned strikes against Iran while negotiations continue behind the scenes.
The president said Iranian officials understood military action was close.
“The Iranian regime knew I was getting ready to attack,” Trump told reporters. “I didn’t tell them. I never tell anybody when. I never tell anybody when, but they knew that we were very close.”
Trump added that a decision on military action had nearly been finalized earlier in the day.
“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,” he said.
According to Trump, Iranian officials have been given only several days to produce an agreement acceptable to Washington.
“I told them, two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week, a limited period of time,” Trump said. “If they don’t make a deal, the strikes will start again.”
The president repeated longstanding concerns over Iran’s nuclear program and warned Tehran could threaten multiple countries in the Middle East if it acquires nuclear weapons capability.
“We can’t let them have a new nuclear weapon,” Trump stated. “If they had a nuclear weapon, they would start with Israel, they would blow it up, and they would blow it up fast.”
Trump also claimed Iran would eventually target additional regional governments including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The remarks followed a statement Trump published Monday on Truth Social announcing that he had temporarily halted planned strikes scheduled for Tuesday because “serious negotiations” were taking place aimed at ending the conflict.
Trump wrote that Gulf leaders, including officials from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, had urged him to delay military action while diplomatic efforts continued.
Prior to Monday’s announcement, the administration had not publicly disclosed that strikes were planned.
Trump said he has nevertheless directed the U.S. military to remain prepared for immediate action if negotiations fail.
“I instructed the United States Armed Forces to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached,” Trump wrote.
For weeks, the president has warned that the fragile ceasefire established in mid-April could collapse absent a broader agreement addressing Iran’s nuclear program and regional military activities.
Over the weekend, Trump intensified that pressure publicly.
“For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” he warned.
The administration has also engaged in high-level diplomatic discussions involving multiple world leaders. Trump recently held conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chinese President Xi Jinping concerning the regional conflict and ongoing negotiations.
Meanwhile, tensions across the Middle East remain elevated despite the ceasefire.
Iranian-aligned groups operating in Iraq have continued launching drone attacks targeting Gulf Arab states during the broader conflict.
The United Arab Emirates recently accused Iran of carrying out drone and missile strikes despite the ceasefire agreement.
On Sunday, a drone attack ignited a fire near the UAE’s only nuclear power facility in what Emirati officials described as an “unprovoked terrorist attack,” though authorities did not formally assign responsibility.
Iranian officials responded Monday with renewed warnings directed at the United States and allied countries.
State-run Tasnim News Agency quoted Iranian general Ali Abdollahi as saying, “If our enemies commit another mistake, we will confront them with power and capabilities far greater” than those seen during earlier fighting.
Tasnim also reported that Iran could open additional fronts in the conflict if the United States resumes military strikes.
The regional instability has continued affecting global energy markets.
Commercial shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains heavily restricted, contributing to rising oil prices worldwide. By Tuesday, Brent crude oil prices had climbed above $110 per barrel, while average gasoline prices in the United States remained above $4.50 per gallon in many areas.
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