Donald Trump revealed that he called off the ‘biggest attack since WWII’ planned for Iran this weekend after allies in the region convinced him a nuclear deal was close.
Speaking on Air Force One Sunday, Trump confirmed that American allies in the Middle East convinced him to stand down on the ‘massive attack’ on Iran.
‘I was asked to by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, by Qatar, and by Iran to hold off strikes. It would have been a massive attack,’ Trump said about pausing the offensive.
‘When the allies asked to call it off, you gotta say, “Well, let’s see.” And the reason why they asked is because I think there’s a deal.’
Before calling off the attack on Sunday, the president claimed he was ‘locked and loaded’ to launch an offensive on Iran.
Talks with the Iranians on the nuclear deal are scheduled to begin tomorrow, the President said.
‘There’s a deal on Hormuz and there’s a deal on the nuclear, or you might call it the denuclearization of Iran,’ Trump said Sunday.
Trump added that the US ‘had an attack planned that would have been the biggest attack since World War II’ that he said would have been ‘disastrous’ for Tehran.
‘They didn’t want us to do it. And frankly, Saudi Arabia didn’t want it either. I thought a deal was imminent,’ he said.
Trump said he spoke specifically to the Crown Prince and confirmed his preference for dealmaking over an attack.
He said that there was no deadline to the deal getting done, clarifying that ‘we’ll just see how it is’ and ‘we’re ready to go any time I want.’
‘I’m not looking to kill people. People die, a lot of people die and we don’t want that.’
He also mused that an attack could potentially create refugees who could be ‘flooding’ the countries of American allies.
‘You don’t know where these attacks lead. Will they be flooded with people pouring into their country and disaster? A lot of bad things can happen.’
Trump added that he believes the deal will involve both Iran’s nuclear program – even suggesting calling it ‘the denuclearization of Iran’ – and a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The President also declined to comment on reports he was moving US troops out of Kuwait and Bahrain.
Trump was also asked about his threats to bring back the controversial $1.8billion weaponization fund if Todd Blanche is not confirmed as attorney general.
‘If they don’t approve Todd, I’d put it back on the table. A lot of people like it. A lot of big Trump supporters like it,’ he said.
Trump cited Senator John Cornyn, a lame duck in Texas, for holding it back because he supported victorious primary opponent Ken Paxton.
He also spoke to the press regarding the status of the FBI’s investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie and the spousal abuse accusations against Congressman Max Miller, among other topics.
Of Guthrie, Trump said the FBI ‘are involved, to an extent, but as you know, the local community really runs those things. Some people haven’t liked the way the local communities run it. They haven’t liked the way the sheriffs run it. We’re there any time they need us. It’s a terrible thing.’
Trump noted that he was ‘going to look into’ the case with Miller, a former senior advisor, but added that ‘so far, it’s just accusations.’
While he would not announce it publicly, he also confirmed he’s decided on a punishment for Canada over the recent wildfires spreading into the United States.
He also confirmed the US will be intervening with the Japanese yen ‘because we have a good relationship with Japan.’
‘We’re very strong, very, very strong financially. Japan’s been very good to us, with the exception, of course, of Pearl Harbor,’ he added.
Trump deferred somewhat on questions regarding hacking by OpenAI and Anthropic and spoke of making $75billion in a deal with Intel ‘for the country.’
Sources told Axios that the Crown Prince urged Trump to defuse the situation, following days of tit-for-tat threats between the White House and Tehran.
In Trump’s Truth Social post on Saturday night, he threatened to unleash ‘power not seen since World War II’, but said he agreed to tentatively pause the attack.
‘We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to,’ Trump wrote.
‘This 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. The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment.’