Trump says he was an hour away from Iran strike decision before delay

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was “an hour away” from deciding whether to attack Iran, before being persuaded to delay the strike for a few days.

“We were all ready to go… This was happening right now,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.

Trump made a claim Real Social post He said Monday afternoon that he was postponing a previously unannounced strike planned for Tuesday because many Middle Eastern leaders wanted him to “wait” in light of ongoing talks with Iran.

Before Trump’s post, there was no clear sign that the United States was preparing to strike Iran on Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal reported that Gulf officials from some of the countries Trump mentioned, I’m not aware Close-up to attack Iran.

“I didn’t tell them,” Trump said later in Tuesday’s statement.

“I wouldn’t tell anyone when it happened, but they knew we were very close,” he said. “I’d say it was, I was an hour away from making the decision to go today.”

He later said: “I had made up my mind. So they called, they had heard that I had made this decision, and they said, ‘Sir, can you give us a few more days? Because we think they were being reasonable.'”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was campaigning against Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., in Kentucky on Monday.

Asked how long it would take for Iran to come to the table, Trump said it could take two or three days, perhaps as early as Sunday or early next week. “It’s a limited time because we can’t let them have nuclear weapons,” he said.

While the ceasefire remains active, the war appears to have been mired in an uneasy stalemate for weeks as the two sides continue to fight for control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil transportation.

Trump has repeatedly threatened further military action against Iran, but has delayed deadlines he set.

The war, which began on Feb. 28 and has lasted much longer than the Trump administration’s initial four-to-six-week timeline, is viewed negatively by a growing majority of Americans, according to recent polls.

A. New York Times-Siena poll The report, published on Monday, revealed that 31 percent of registered US voters approve of Trump’s handling of the Iran war, while 65 percent disapprove, with most of those who disapprove expressing “strongly disapprove.”

Trump said Tuesday that he believes people who understand the administration’s goals are supporting the operations.

“Everyone tells me it’s unpopular, but I think when they hear it’s about nuclear weapons, weapons that can destroy Los Angeles, destroy major cities, it becomes very popular,” he said.

“When we explain it to people, I don’t actually have enough time to explain it to people, I’m too busy doing it. Once they get it, I think it’s obviously very popular,” he said. “But whether it’s popular or not, I have to do it.”