President Donald Trump said Sunday that he shelved what he described as a massive planned military strike against Iran after key Gulf allies urged him to give diplomacy more time. He said that they believed a broader agreement was within reach. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning from Bedminster, New Jersey, to Joint Base Andrews, Trump said the canceled operation would have been “the biggest attack since World War II” and could have been “disastrous” for Iran.
“I was asked to by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, by Qatar, and by Iran to hold off strikes,” Trump said. “It would have been a massive attack. “When the allies asked to call it off, you gotta say, Well, let’s see.” Trump said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally urged him to pursue negotiations instead of military action. “I asked the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, ‘What would you rather have us do?'” Trump said. “He said, ‘We would prefer a deal rather than an attack.'”
