US President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that talks between Iran and the United States will resume on Monday.
The announcement followed Trump’s decision on Saturday night to hold off on striking Iran to allow for the resumption of talks on a deal.
“I was asked to [call off the strikes] by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, by Qatar, and by Iran. We are all set to go, at about this time right now. It would have been a massive attack," Trump said.
“When the allies asked to call it off, you gotta say, ‘Well, let's see.’ The allies think there is a deal. There is a deal on Hormuz, and it will be a deal on the denuclearization of Iran."
Asked what will happen next, the President replied, “We are talking to them. It begins tomorrow afternoon. It would save a lot of lives."
He was asked whether there is a deadline for Iran to come to an agreement and said, “We will see. Would I rather make a deal? I am not looking to kill people. Because people die. A lot of people die. We don’t want that."
Trump announced in a post on Truth Social on Saturday night that he had agreed to cancel a planned attack on Iran, but added that the Islamic Republic must agree to a deal swiftly.
"The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II. Despite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to. This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat," Trump wrote.
He added, "Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL. The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE."
Trump’s post followed a report in Axios which said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a telephone conversation with Trump on Saturday to express deep misgivings over potential broad-scale military strikes targeting Iran.
"The Saudis expressed concern and asked for clarity about the plan of action," one US official told Axios.
A second source aware of the call noted that the Saudi Crown Prince directly encouraged Trump to pursue de-escalation and refrain from approving the military operation.
On Friday, US officials told The Wall Street Journal that Trump had ordered a fresh attack on Iran that could begin as soon as the weekend and would last a few days.