US President Donald Trump has said that talks with Iran will begin on Monday afternoon, expressing optimism that an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s “denuclearisation” could soon be reached.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Trump said conversations with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iran had prompted him to cancel a “massive attack” on Friday.
“They didn’t want us to do it, and frankly, Saudi Arabia didn’t want it either. They thought that a deal is imminent … having to do with the Hormuz Strait and also ultimately denuclearisation,” he announced.
“We were asked by the three primary groups. We were also asked by Iran very strongly,” Trump said. “They said we’d like to make a deal.”
Asked whether Iran had a deadline to reach an agreement, Trump said there was no set timeline.
“We’ll just see,” he said, while emphasising that the US remained prepared to use military force if necessary.
“We’re ready to go anytime we want. Would I rather make a deal? I’m not looking to kill people because people die, a lot of people die, and we don’t want that,” he said.
Asked whether the operation would have targeted Iran’s energy infrastructure, Trump declined to elaborate.
“Framework of deal agreed”
The latest development comes after the US president said earlier that he cancelled a planned attack on Iran after announcing that the framework of a deal had been agreed, while making the decision conditional on a rapid agreement being reached.
