Trump ‘holding off’ on new Iran strikes after Gulf appeal

President Donald Trump said he’d called off a strike on Iran planned for Tuesday after an appeal by the leaders of Persian Gulf allies, who called for more time to pursue a diplomatic resolution.

Trump said in a social media post that leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates asked “to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow, in that serious negotiations are now taking place.”

The president has repeatedly threatened renewed military action against Iran without following through. There was no immediate confirmation from Tehran of renewed talks. Trump said the US is prepared to attack if an acceptable deal isn’t reached but didn’t set a deadline.

His post was the latest indication of the bind he’s in with the war, where Tehran has taken a hard line in the absence of credible threats of renewed attacks by the US. But escalation would bring further increases in oil prices, something the White House has so far been unwilling to risk.

Oil erased much of the day’s gains after Trump’s latest comments. Treasury yields also declined and stocks pared losses.

Earlier Monday, both sides said they’d rejected fresh proposals as insufficient to secure an agreement.

The White House said a proposal delivered by Iran through Pakistani mediators on Sunday lacked meaningful improvement, failing to offer detailed commitments on the surrender of the Islamic Republic’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and the suspension of further enrichment, Axios reported, citing a senior US official and a person briefed on the issue.

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Iran, meanwhile, indicated that US demands remain unacceptable. Tehran has refused to budge on some of its key positions and insisted that its frozen assets be returned and compensation for the war paid.

With crucial oil exports from the Persian Gulf all but cut off amid the war, Trump has been pushing Iran to make a deal or face a resumption of strikes. Iran has vowed to fight back. Earlier Monday, the UAE reported a drone struck near a major nuclear power plant.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said earlier the US had offered to lift sanctions on the sale of Iranian oil until a final deal was reached, as part of a new draft proposal. A US official who refused to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter said the story was false, but didn’t elaborate.

According to Tasnim, Iran said Washington’s demands were still excessive and that it would not agree to end the war at the expense of its nuclear program.

High oil prices have added to pressure on the Trump administration. Monday, the Treasury Department said it’s extending a sanctions waiver to allow sales of Russian oil for another 30 days.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X that the waiver will “provide the most vulnerable nations with the ability to temporarily access Russian oil currently stranded at sea.”

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On his way back from a summit in Beijing last week, Trump told reporters he spoke with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping about potentially lifting sanctions on Chinese oil companies that buy Iranian crude. About 90% of Iranian oil exports before the war were purchased by China.

The drone strike at the UAE nuclear plant underscored the fragility of the truce. The country’s defense ministry said the projectile was launched from the west of the UAE, adding that two others were intercepted.

Emergency diesel generators were turned on to supply power to the plant’s unit 3, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a social media post. There was no radiological impact, according to Abu Dhabi’s media office.

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed three drones that entered its airspace on Sunday from Iraq, where many Iran-backed militias are located. It was unclear if those were part of the attack on the UAE.

Iran has made no public comment on the attacks.

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