Trump says US may strike Iran again but that Tehran wants deal

President Donald Trump said ​on Tuesday that the United States may need to strike Iran again and that he had been an hour away from ordering an attack before postponing it.

Trump made ‌the comments a day after saying he had paused a planned resumption of hostilities following a new proposal by Tehran to end the U.S.-Israeli war.

“I was an hour away from making the decision to go today,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.

Iran’s leaders are begging for a deal, he said, adding that a new U.S. attack would happen in coming days if no agreement was reached.

The United States has been struggling to end the war it began ​with Israel nearly three months ago. Trump has previously said that a deal with Tehran was close, and similarly threatened heavy strikes on Iran if it did not reach an ​accord.

The U.S. president is under intense political pressure at home to reach an accord that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz – a key route ⁠for global supplies of oil and other commodities. Gas prices remain high and Trump’s approval rating has plummeted as congressional elections loom in November.

Oil prices settled lower on Tuesday after Vice President JD ​Vance said Washington and Tehran had made a lot of progress in talks and neither side wanted to see a resumption of the military campaign. “We’re in a pretty good spot here,” he said.

Speaking to ​reporters at a White House briefing, Vance acknowledged difficulties in negotiating with a fractured Iranian leadership. “It’s not sometimes totally clear what the negotiating position of the team is,” he said, so the U.S. is trying to make its own red lines clear.

Iran army warns will ‘open new fronts’ against US if attacks resume

He also said one objective of Trump’s policy is to prevent a nuclear arms race from spreading in the region.

IRAN PROMISES RESPONSE TO ANY NEW ATTACK

In Tehran, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s ​national security committee, said on X that pausing an attack was due to Trump’s realization that any move against Iran would mean “facing a decisive military response.”

Iranian state media said Tehran’s latest peace proposal ​involves ending hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, the exit of U.S. forces from areas close to Iran, and reparations for destruction caused by the U.S.-Israeli attacks.

Tehran also sought the lifting of sanctions, release of frozen funds and ‌an end ⁠to the U.S. marine blockade, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi as cited by IRNA news agency.