Trump says delaying Iran attack at request of Gulf leaders

US President Donald Trump said he would “hold off” an attack on Iran scheduled for Tuesday at the request of Gulf leaders.

Trump said on his Truth Social network on Monday that “serious negotiations” were now underway with Iran and that Gulf states believed “a deal will be made.”

But he said Washington was ready for a “full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”

Earlier, Iran said Monday it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at ending the war, adding that exchanges were continuing despite Iranian media reports describing Washington’s demands as excessive.

Washington and Tehran have been swapping proposals in an effort to end the conflict which broke out on February 28. The two sides have held a single round of talks so far amid a fragile ceasefire in place since April 8.

“As we announced yesterday, our concerns were conveyed to the American side,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said during a press briefing Monday, adding that exchanges were “continuing through the Pakistani mediator”, without providing details.

Baqaei defended Iran’s demands including the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad and the lifting of long-standing sanctions.

“The points raised are Iranian demands that have been firmly defended by the Iranian negotiating team in every round of negotiations,” he said.

He also defended an Iranian stipulation that the US pay war reparations, for the “illegal and baseless” conflict.

On the possibility of another military confrontation, Baqaei said Iran was “fully prepared for any eventuality”.

On Sunday, 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.

The US had refused to release “even 25 percent” of Iran’s frozen assets or pay any reparations for war damage, according to Fars.

The report said the US had also made clear it would only cease hostilities when Tehran engages in formal peace negotiations.

Iran’s Mehr news agency said, “the United States, offering no tangible concessions, wants to obtain concessions that it failed to obtain during the war, which will lead to an impasse in the negotiations”.

It described the US conditions as “excessive”.