Trump says delaying Iran attack at request of Gulf leaders

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - May 19, 2026 01:48 am IST - Washington A file image of U.S. President Donald Trump. Photo: Getty Images via AFP. U.S. President Donald Trump said he was postponing a planned attack on Iran scheduled for Tuesday (May 19, 2026) at the request of Gulf leaders amid “serious negotiations” with Tehran. Mr. Trump’s sudden announcement on social media on Monday (May 18, 2026) came after Iran said it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at ending the war. Mr. Trump said he would “hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow,” in a message on his Truth Social network. The U.S. President said he had been asked to do so by the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as “serious negotiations are now taking place.” The Gulf allies believe “a Deal will be made” that includes “NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!” added Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump said he had informed the U.S. military “that we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow.” But he said he had “further instructed them 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.” Mr. Trump had given Iran a series of increasingly ominous warnings in the days since his return from a trip to China to meet President Xi Jinping. Late Sunday (May 17, 2026) he said the “clock is ticking” and threatened that “there won’t be anything left” of Iran if no peace deal is reached. The United States and Israel have been locked in a war with Iran since U.S. and Israeli forces launched strikes in late February. Mr. Trump has struggled to break an impasse in negotiations and end the conflict, which has shaken the West Asia and sent energy prices climbing. The two sides have held only a single round of talks in Pakistan despite a fragile ceasefire in April. On Sunday (May 17, 2026), Iran’s Fars news agency said Washington had presented a five-point list, which included a demand for Iran to keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States. Fars said that the Iranian proposal had emphasized that Tehran would continue to manage the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy conduit which Iran has largely kept closed since the start of the war. On Monday (May 18, 2026), the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), a new body Iran has set up to manage the Hormuz Strait, said it would provide “real-time updates” on X of operations and developments in the waterway. Mr. Trump says Iran must open up the strait as part of any deal. USA / Iran / Israel-US strikes on Iran / Israel Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Trump says delaying Iran attack at request of Gulf leaders

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Trump says delaying Iran attack at request of Gulf leaders

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