Trump rules out US strike on Iran on Sunday, but says decision on deal or attack still open
President Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States would not strike Iran that day, after warning a day earlier that an attack could come as early as Sunday, while leaving open whether he will pursue a deal or renewed military action.
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States would not launch a military strike against Iran that day, stepping back from his warning a day earlier that an attack could come as early as Sunday.
Asked by a reporter whether a US attack on Iran could take place on Sunday, Trump replied: “Would I tell you that? The answer is no. There will not be a strike today,” the Jerusalem Post reported. Al Jazeera’s live coverage carried the same ruling-out, headlining its update: “Trump says ‘no strike today’.”
Trump did not rule out military action at a later date. Earlier on Sunday, he told Fox News he still had a decision to make. “Should I finish the job - which would be very easy to do - or should I reach an agreement? That is the whole decision,” he said, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The Sunday remarks follow Trump’s statement on Saturday, covered by Flip News, that the United States could strike Iran as early as Sunday or reach a “big, beautiful” deal, with no final decision disclosed. Trump has said his objective is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and has questioned whether Tehran would honour any agreement.
Trump also said on Sunday that the United States was actively monitoring activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site and three other sites allegedly destroyed in previous strikes, adding: “There isn’t much activity going on there,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
US officials told the Jerusalem Post they believed a joint US-Israeli strike on Iran was a question of when, not if, while the prevailing assessment in Washington was that Trump would hold off on a final decision on military action until after the US midterm elections on 3 November.
Sources
More on this topic: all World stories
