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WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday he decided to hold off on ordering American forces to carry out new strikes against Iran at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Trump added that a plan was in place for U.S. forces to carry out “the biggest attack since World War II” on Sunday. But he decided to scrap the plan and give diplomacy more time to play out after hearing from key Gulf leaders — including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — as well as at the request of unnamed Iranian officials.
“I said to the crown prince, ‘What would you rather do? Would you rather us do this or not?’” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew back to Washington after spending the weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. “They said we would much prefer a deal as opposed to an attack, because you don’t know where these attacks lead.”
Trump and the crown prince spoke on Saturday before the U.S. president announced in a social media post that Mideast allies had reached the “perimeters” of a deal to end the 5-month-old war.
It was another turnabout for Trump, who a day earlier said he’s “losing faith” in negotiations with Iran and offered the ominous warning that the U.S. military “will be hitting them very hard.”
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the emerging deal would include a reopening...
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