'Locked and loaded': Trump says he was 'an hour away' from launching new Iran strikes before last-minute hold off

The reversal followed private appeals from the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who told Trump that "serious talks" were underway and assured him that "a deal will be made." Mediators are now pressing Iran to adopt a more flexible position on the nuclear demands put forward by Washington.

United States President Donald Trump revealed on Tuesday that he came within an hour of ordering fresh military strikes on Iran before pulling back at the urging of his Gulf allies, warning he may yet resume the offensive within days. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said US naval warships were armed and ready when he called off the operation.

"I'm saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday; something maybe early next week, a limited period of time," he said, leaving the door firmly open to renewed action.

The reversal followed private appeals from the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who told Trump that "serious talks" were underway and assured him that "a deal will be made." Mediators are now pressing Iran to adopt a more flexible position on the nuclear demands put forward by Washington.

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Behind the scenes, Trump had not formally decided to stand down before making his public announcement on Monday, according to officials cited by Axios. The reported hold-off came after a lengthy national security briefing on Monday evening, a meeting that had originally been scheduled for Tuesday, which ran for several hours and covered military options, the state of peace talks, and next steps in the conflict.

Senior figures present included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Daniel Caine, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

Several Iranian officials who have spoken with Trump since the announcement reportedly came away with the impression that he is "in the mood of cracking their head open to get them to move in the negotiations."

Vance, speaking at a separate White House briefing on Tuesday, said there had been a "lot of progress" in talks and that things were in a "pretty good spot." He was nonetheless unambiguous about what a breakdown would mean. "We don't want to go down that pathway, but we will if we are pushed to," he said, confirming the US remains "locked and loaded."

Trump echoed that stance, saying he hoped not to restart hostilities but did not rule out delivering what he called "another big hit" should diplomacy fail to produce results in the coming days.

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(With agencies' inputs)