While Trump surprised many with his announcement May 18 that he would delay a planned resumption of military strikes against Iran, the President has kept the world in suspense as to what his next moves would be. “I was asked by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, and some others if we could put it off [strikes on Iran] for two or three days, a short period of time, because they think that they are getting very close to making a deal, and if we can do that, where there’s no nuclear weapon going into the hands of Iran, I think, and if they’re satisfied, we will be probably satisfied also,” Trump told reporters May 18.
“There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I’d be very happy.”
Then, speaking to reporters at the White House on May 19, Trump claimed: “I was an hour away; we were all set to go. It would’ve been happening right now.”
