Trump says new talks with Iran to begin Monday after calling off strikes

US President Donald Trump announced that new talks with Iran will begin on Monday. He had previously decided to hold off on launching new strikes against the Islamic Republic in order to pursue a deal. According to Trump, the decision to delay the strikes was influenced by requests from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, who believed a deal was imminent.

Trump stated that the planned strikes would have been "the biggest attack since World War II" and would have had severe consequences. He claimed that the US military was "all set to go" but decided to pursue negotiations instead, which he believes could "save a lot of lives." The talks are expected to cover the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program.

Iranian officials have responded to Trump's claims, with some denying that they had requested a pause in the strikes. Despite this, Trump remains optimistic about the potential for a deal. The situation remains uncertain, with ongoing tensions in the Middle East and concerns about the potential consequences of any agreement or further conflict.

Brief written by urgent.news from Middle East Eye, Jerusalem Post, Al-Monitor, FXStreet, South China Morning Post — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.