Washington, May 19, 2026 — Speaking to reporters Tuesday at the White House, President Donald Trump said he was about an hour away from ordering renewed strikes on Iran before halting the move after calls from regional interlocutors.
Trump, standing near the East Wing construction site for a planned White House ballroom, said he and his team were ‘all set to go’ and that the operation ‘would have been happening right now’ if he had followed through. He added that he had effectively made the decision when officials from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, among others, called and urged him to give talks more time because they believed Tehran was being ‘reasonable.’
The president said negotiators reported substantial progress over the previous two days. He identified the countries involved in shuttling diplomacy as primarily Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain, saying the parties were working together ‘like a team’ to press Iran toward an agreement.
Trump said he is allowing Iran a ‘limited period of time’ to reach a deal, stressing that the United States cannot allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon. ‘There’s no question in my mind that they’d use it,’ he said, adding that he regards Iranian hardliners as ‘extremely radicalised.’
The remarks came amid heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear program and regional influence. Trump framed the pause as conditional and tied to ongoing negotiations mediated by Gulf partners.
