U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he has instructed the Pentagon not to launch military strikes on Iran Tuesday as U.S. allies in the Gulf are working to help reach an acceptable peace deal.
"We will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president added that he has further instructed the Pentagon "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".
Trump said "serious negotiations" are taking place and that, in the opinion of Gulf leaders, a deal will be made, which will be "very acceptable" to the United States, all countries in the Middle East, and beyond.
"This Deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!" he wrote.
Trump said he held off on the planned attacks at the request of leaders from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Also on Monday, Trump said he is "not open" to any Iranian concessions after receiving Tehran's updated response to a peace deal one day earlier.
Iran knows "what's going to be happening soon", he said in a phone interview with the New York Post.
Asked about his Friday remarks that he would be willing to accept a 20-year moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, Trump interjected: "I'm not open to anything right now."
The White House believes the latest offer from Iran is insufficient for a peace deal, U.S. online media Axios reported earlier on Monday, citing a senior U.S. official.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that it is not correct to chant slogans against holding negotiations. "We negotiate with dignity and will never back down," according to a statement published on the website of his office.
Speaking at a meeting in Tehran, Pezeshkian said Iran is capable of defending its rights.
Iran has handed over its latest 14-point proposed plan for ending the war with the United States to mediator Pakistan, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.
Pakistan will convey the plan to the United States, the report said, citing a source close to Iran's negotiating team.
The new proposal was submitted after Tehran revised its earlier 14-point draft in response to a recent U.S. proposal, the source added.
According to the source, Iran's new draft focuses on negotiations to end the war, as well as on the U.S. "trust-building" measures.
Iran insists that the frozen overseas assets of Iran must also be "clearly and effectively" returned. Additionally, Iran is firm in demanding compensation from the United States.
In a separate report on Monday, Tasnim quoted another source close to the Iranian negotiating team as saying that, unlike previous U.S. drafts, Washington has agreed in its latest proposal to waive Iran's oil sanctions during the negotiation period.
Tasnim said Iran insists that the removal of all sanctions must be among the U.S. commitments. The United States, however, has proposed suspending sanctions imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control until a final agreement is reached, it said.
Iran, the United States and Israel reached a ceasefire on April 8 after 40 days of fighting that started with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities on Feb 28.
Following the truce, Iranian and U.S. delegations held one round of peace talks in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on April 11 and 12, which failed to yield an agreement.
Over the past weeks, the two sides have reportedly exchanged several proposed plans outlining conditions for ending the conflict through Pakistan.
Trump says no US military strikes on Iran Tuesday as allies push for deal
Trump says no US military strikes on Iran Tuesday as allies push for deal
