Trump says US could attack Iran again but that Tehran wants deal

DUBAI/WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States may need to attack Iran again and that he had only an hour to decide on an attack before postponing it.

Trump spoke to reporters at the White House a day after saying Tehran was pausing the resumption of planned attacks following a new peace offer.

“I was an hour away from making the decision to leave today,” Trump said Tuesday.

He also said that Iranian leaders are begging to make an agreement, but if an agreement is not reached, a new US attack may occur in the coming days.

“So, I mean two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday or something, maybe early next week, a limited period of time, because we can’t let them have another nuclear weapon.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian state media said Tehran’s latest peace offer included an end to hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, the withdrawal of US forces from areas close to Iran and compensation for the destruction caused by the US-Israeli war.

According to IRNA news agency, in Tehran’s first comment on the offer, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Garibabadi said Tehran also wants the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen funds and the end of the US naval embargo on the country.

The terms described in the Iran reports appear to have changed little from Iran’s previous offer, which Trump rejected as “garbage” last week.

Reuters could not determine whether preparations were being made for attacks that would mark a renewal of the war Trump launched in late February.

Trump, who is under pressure to reach a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key supply route for global oil and other commodities, has previously expressed hope that an agreement would be reached on ending the conflict and similarly threatened to heavily attack Iran if Tehran does not reach a deal.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by William Maclean; Editing by Peter Graff)