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Trump calls off new Iran attack at request of Gulf states
US president signals possible Iran breakthrough as ‘serious negotiations’ continue to end conflict
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Dewey Simin WashingtonPublished: 3:43am, 19 May 2026Updated: 6:14am, 19 May 2026US President Donald Trump said he has called off strikes on Iran planned for Tuesday at the urging of Gulf leaders as “serious negotiations” for a deal to end the war were underway.Trump said in a social media post on Monday that leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have asked that the US “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”.
Even so, the US leader said he has instructed the military 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”.
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Trump has renewed threats to attack Iran as their fragile ceasefire came under strain. He has warned that the ceasefire struck in mid-April could lapse if Iran did not strike a deal, while shifting parameters for striking such an arrangement.
On Sunday, he said the clock was ticking for Iran and that “they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them”.
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Trump had not previously disclosed that he was planning a strike on Tuesday and offered no additional details in the social media post.
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