The British newspaper The Telegraph has claimed that US President Donald Trump changed his mind about attacking Iran at the last minute.
According to The Telegraph, the trump change was made possible by diplomatic efforts by Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman held emergency talks with Washington and persuaded Trump to postpone military action by saying that Tehran should be given a chance to demonstrate its “good deeds”.
Trump had earlier told Iranian protesters that “help is coming”. Late on Wednesday, Trump backed down from the decision to definitely attack, saying that the killings in Iran were stopping.
Iran had halted the executions just before Trump’s decision, a senior Saudi official told AFP news agency.
Gulf states had persuaded President Trump to give Iran another chance after a long and exhausting diplomatic effort,
They had also warned that the consequences of the attack in the region could be dire. The Saudi official said it had been a sleepless night trying to defuse the bombs.
Turkey and Egypt had also urged Trump to exercise restraint, the newspaper said, warning that a US strike on Iran would have repercussions for Iran’s neighbours and would also have a negative impact on global oil and gas prices.
Donald Trump has told his national security team that he would only strike Iran if it had a decisive impact on the Iranian regime.
On the other hand, US Senator Lindsey Graham has said that people should stay tuned, the talk of a US attack on Iran is not over yet.
Other international media outlets are also claiming that the threat of a US attack on Iran remains, the Pentagon has sent a fleet equipped with cruise missiles, warships and fighter jets to the Middle East, which will arrive in a week.
According to US and British media, President Trump wants short and decisive action, and the attacks could target the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Basij Force and police with cruise missiles.