President Donald Trump stated Monday evening that the United States was about to launch an attack on Iran 'harder than any attack since World War II.' He added that several leaders, particularly the Iranians, begged him not to proceed and expressed a desire for negotiations. The statement follows his earlier remarks on the scale of the canceled strike.
In a new statement Monday evening, President Donald Trump said the United States was on the verge of launching an attack on Iran 'harder than any attack since World War II,' and claimed that several leaders, particularly the Iranians, begged him to halt the operation and expressed a desire for negotiations. The remarks add a new layer to his earlier statements about the planned massive strike, which he said was called off to allow for diplomatic talks.
The Zioneer first reported on the planned strike early Monday morning (00:52 Jerusalem), quoting Israeli analysts Ben Yaniv and Yair Goldblatt that Trump said Iran asked him not to carry out a massive attack. Shortly afterward, at the same timestamp, the desk reported that Trump confirmed the intended strike was the largest since World War II, citing Amichai Stein (i24NEWS). The sequence showed an evolution from unverified analyst reports to an on-record presidential confirmation.
The broader context of US-Iran tensions has been covered extensively by The Zioneer. Earlier this week, Trump stated that Iran 'wants a deal more than I do' and that they have 'taken hits' (Thu Jun 11, 23:21 Jerusalem). Last month, Trump said he was 'close to making a decision' on a massive attack (Thu Jul 23, 18:50 Jerusalem), and US officials told Fox News that any expanded operation would be far more powerful and likely include Israel (Tue Jul 21, 09:26 Jerusalem).
The identity of the other leaders who allegedly begged Trump to halt the strike remains unspecified. It is also unclear whether the reported Iranian desire for negotiations will lead to a concrete diplomatic process, as Trump has previously expressed skepticism about Iran's reliability in honoring agreements.
3 developments
- DevelopingTrump claims Iran asked him not to attack tonight, says he intends to order strong strike
- DevelopingTrump warns US ready to strike Iran 'whenever we want' as talks set for Monday afternoon
- DevelopingTrump says US will strike Iran 'very hard' tonight, tomorrow, and the night after
- ConfirmedTrump threatens to 'eliminate' Iranian leadership, says US plans significant attacks today
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