WNAM MONITORING: US President Donald Trump said Sunday that talks with Iran will begin Monday afternoon, expressing optimism that an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s “denuclearization” could soon be reached.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Trump said conversations with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iran had prompted him to cancel a “massive attack” on Friday.
“We were asked by the three primary groups. We were also asked by Iran very strongly,” he said. “They said we’d like to make a deal.”
He said the planned military operation was called off after Iran and neighboring countries urged Washington to hold back.
“It was going to be a massive attack. They asked us not to do it. They said: ‘Please don’t do it.’ Their neighbors said that too. We are just going to see whether or not we can make a deal,” he said.
“They didn’t want us to do it, and frankly, Saudi Arabia didn’t want it either. They thought that a deal is imminent … having to do with the Hormuz Strait and also ultimately denuclearization,” he added.
Asked whether Iran had a deadline to reach an agreement, Trump said there was no set timeline.
“We’ll just see,” he said, while emphasizing that the US remained prepared to use military force if necessary.
“We’re ready to go anytime we want. Would I rather make a deal? I’m not looking to kill people because people die, a lot of people die, and we don’t want that,” he said.
He said the planned operation would have been “disastrous” for Iran and claimed it would have taken the country “many, many years” to rebuild.
Asked whether the operation would have targeted Iran’s energy infrastructure, Trump declined to elaborate.
