Trump halts Iran attack at Gulf leaders’ request after Tehran peace proposal

President Donald Trump said he decided to pause a planned attack on Iran at the request of Gulf leaders after Tehran submitted a new peace proposal through Pakistan.

Trump said Monday there is a “very good chance” the United States and Iran can reach an agreement to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

A temporary ceasefire began April 8, six weeks into the conflict. Armed hostilities have largely subsided since then, but a lasting peace deal remains out of reach, with both sides dissatisfied with each other’s terms.

Also Monday, Saudi Arabia reported intercepting three drones, a day after a drone strike hit the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in the United Arab Emirates. The attacks raised concerns about renewed military escalation in the Gulf as peace talks continue.

Following the drone attacks on the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”

Later Monday, Trump posted that leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE asked him to postpone a planned attack on Iran scheduled for Tuesday because “serious negotiations are now taking place.”

Trump said he instructed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and the U.S. military not to carry out the scheduled attack. He said he “further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”

Iran submitted a revised 14-point peace plan to end the war, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Monday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told a news briefing Monday that Tehran’s response to the previous U.S. proposal was “conveyed to the American side through mediator Pakistan,” according to Tasnim.

Washington and Tehran have exchanged several proposals in recent weeks during a ceasefire that has largely halted six weeks of fighting. However, initial direct talks mediated by Pakistan in Islamabad stalled in April, and Trump said last week the ceasefire is “on life support.”

Although the specific details of Iran’s latest plan have not been made public, Baghaei said demands include the release of Iran’s frozen overseas assets and the lifting of sanctions.

“The points raised are Iranian demands that have been firmly defended by the Iranian negotiating team in every round of negotiations,” he said.

Iran has also previously demanded compensation for damage from U.S.-Israeli attacks, an end to the ongoing U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and a halt to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israeli forces continue daily attacks and have mounted a ground invasion in the south.

Washington has urged Tehran to dismantle its nuclear program and lift a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas supply.

A major sticking point is Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile. The U.S. has demanded Iran give up its enriched uranium, a request Tehran has resisted.

Iran is believed to hold about 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60 percent. A 90 percent threshold is needed for a nuclear weapon. Iran has never officially declared an intent to build nuclear weapons. The U.S. wants the stock handed over to it, but Iran reportedly is only willing to consider handing it to a third party, if at all.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters last week in New Delhi, on the sidelines of a BRICS foreign ministers meeting, that Iran and the U.S. have reached a “deadlock” on the question of Iran’s “enriched material.”

As a result, he said, the topic is being “postponed” until later stages of talks. “For the time being, it is not under discussion, it’s not under negotiation, but we will come to that subject in later stages.”

Araghchi confirmed he spoke with Russian officials about Moscow’s offer to store Iran’s enriched uranium. He said Iran may consider the proposal at an “appropriate time” and appreciates Moscow’s efforts.

“When we come to that stage, obviously we will have more consultations with Russia and see if the Russian offer can help or not,” he said.

The U.S. and Iran also dispute whether Iran should be allowed to enrich uranium at all. Under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed during the Obama administration, Iran could enrich to 3.87 percent, sufficient for a nuclear power program. Trump withdrew the U.S. from that agreement in 2018, despite International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran had complied. The U.S. now wants a moratorium on all uranium enrichment for up to 20 years.

Another point of friction is the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.

Since early March, Iran has restricted shipping through the strait, a narrow waterway linking Gulf oil producers to the open ocean that carried 20 percent of the world’s oil and LNG supplies during peacetime. Iran allows passage by vessels from select countries, but they must negotiate transit with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In previous proposals to end the war, Iran has mentioned charging fees or tolls for vessels passing through the strait. Washington has repeatedly rejected that. In April, the U.S. announced a naval blockade on ships entering or leaving Iranian ports, further disrupting global oil and gas supplies.

Iran’s state media reported, citing the Foreign Ministry, that technical teams from Iran and Oman met in Oman to negotiate a safe transit mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz.

A third major point of friction, likely deferred to later discussions, is Iran’s support for a network of proxy armed groups across the Middle East, which it calls its “axis of resistance.” These include Yemen’s Houthis, who have attacked Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and multiple groups in Iraq and Syria.