US President Donald Trump has shared new details about his plans to attack Iran, saying he is “not going to let the world be blown up on my watch”, telling Iran they now only have “a limited period of time”.
Mr Trump on Monday night announced that he had postponed a major new attack on Iran at a time when long-term peace negotiations appeared to have stalled.
Now, Mr Trump has revealed that his lethal attack was only “an hour away”.
“They knew I was getting ready to attack,” Mr Trump said on Tuesday.
“I was an hour away from making the decision to go today (Tuesday US time). I had made the decision.
“They (negotiators) heard I had made the decision and said ‘sir can you give us a couple more days because we think they’re being reasonable’.”
Mr Trump went on to say that his next attack could now be triggered in “two or three days”, claiming that Iran’s leaders are begging for a deal.
“Well, I mean, I’m saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week, a limited period of time, because we can’t let them have a new nuclear weapon,” he said.
“The boats, the ships are all loaded, they’re loaded to the brim and we’re all set to start.
Defending his war in Iran, Mr Trump said he didn’t care if the war was popular or unpopular, reasserting his claim that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, a must for a deal in his eyes.
“When they hear that it is having to do with nuclear weapons, weapons that could take out Los Angeles, could take out major cities very quick. When we explain it to people, I don’t really have enough time to explain it to people - I am too busy getting it done.
“Whether it is popular or not popular, I have to do it, because I am not going to let the world be blown up on my watch.”
Iran dispute why Trump’s attack was delayed
In Tehran, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, said on X that pausing an attack was due to Mr Trump’s realisation 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 US forces from areas close to Iran, and reparations for destruction caused by the US-Israeli attacks.
Tehran also sought the lifting of sanctions, release of frozen funds and end to the US marine blockade, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, as cited by IRNA news agency.
The terms as described in the Iranian reports appeared little changed from Iran’s previous offer, which Mr Trump rejected last week, calling it “garbage”.
Reuters could not determine whether military preparations had been made for strikes that would mark a renewal of the war Mr Trump started in late February.
He is under pressure to reach an accord that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz - a key supply route for global supplies of oil and other commodities. Mr Trump has previously expressed hope that a deal was close on ending the conflict, and similarly threatened heavy strikes on Iran if it did not reach an accord.
Mr Trump said on Monday that Washington would be satisfied if it could reach an agreement that prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I would be very happy,” Mr Trump told reporters.
A Pakistani source confirmed that Islamabad, which has conveyed messages between the sides since hosting the only round of peace talks last month, had shared the Iranian proposal with Washington.
The sides “keep changing their goalposts,” the Pakistani source said, adding: “We don’t have much time.”
The US-Israeli bombing killed thousands of people in Iran before it was suspended in a ceasefire in early April.
Israel has killed thousands more and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes in Lebanon, which it invaded in pursuit of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.
Iranian strikes on Israel and neighbouring Gulf states have killed dozens of people.
The Iran ceasefire has mostly held, although drones have lately been launched from Iraq towards Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, apparently by Iran and its allies.
Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they launched the war to curb Iran’s support for regional militias, dismantle its nuclear program, destroy its missile capabilities, and create conditions for Iranians to topple their rulers.
But the war has yet to deprive Iran of its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium or its ability to threaten neighbours with missiles, drones and proxy militias.
The Islamic Republic’s clerical leadership, which had faced a mass uprising at the start of the year, withstood the superpower onslaught with no sign of organised opposition.
Mr Trump spoke on Tuesday shortly after his administration imposed sanctions on an Iranian foreign currency exchange house and what it said were front companies overseeing transactions on behalf of Iranian banks.
- with Reuters
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