US President Donald Trump said Monday he had halted a strike on Iran planned for Tuesday after Arab states including Tehran’s new foe the UAE urged him to allow more time for talks, even as reports said Tehran’s latest proposal had fallen short of US expectations.
Trump said Qatar’s emir, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed asked him to delay the attack, which he said had been planned for Tuesday, because they believed a deal could be reached that would be “very acceptable” to the United States, the Middle East and beyond.
“This Deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
He said he instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Daniel Caine and the US military not to carry out the strike, but warned that the order could be reversed if talks fail.
“I have 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,” Trump said.
The diplomatic push came as details emerged about Tehran’s latest proposal to Washington.
Earlier in the day, Reuters reported, citing a senior Iranian source, that Tehran’s latest proposal calls for a permanent end to the war, sanctions relief, the release of all frozen Iranian funds and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, while leaving nuclear talks for later stages.
The source said Washington had so far agreed only to unfreeze 25% of Iran’s funds on a phased timetable, but had shown flexibility over limits on Tehran’s nuclear work.
Reconstruction fund for Iran
Iran's Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Tasnim news agency separately reported, citing a source close to Tehran's negotiating team, that Washington had proposed establishing a reconstruction and development fund and had accepted suspending Iran’s oil sanctions during negotiations through temporary waivers issued by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Tasnim also said major gaps remained between the two sides, particularly over the release of frozen Iranian funds and Tehran’s demand for compensation over the war.
The source said Iran rejected linking an end to the conflict to nuclear commitments and insisted Tehran would “by no means agree to ending the war in exchange for nuclear commitments.”
The claims of sanctions relief were quickly disputed in Washington. CNBC reporter Megan Cassella said a US official denied the report, saying Iranian state media claims that Washington had agreed to lift oil sanctions during talks were false.
Axios also reported, citing a senior US official and a source briefed on the issue, that Iran’s updated proposal was insufficient because it lacked detailed commitments on suspending uranium enrichment or handing over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
The US official cited by Axios said no sanctions relief would happen “for free” without reciprocal action by Iran, warning that talks may otherwise continue “through bombs.”
Trump later told the New York Post he was “not open” to concessions to Tehran and suggested Iran understood the risk of further US action.
“I can tell you they want to make a deal more than ever, because they know we’re—what’s going to be happening soon,” Trump said.
