U.S. President Donald Trump said he held off resuming strikes on Iran at the request of Gulf leaders just one hour beforehand, and he kept up pressure on Iran by warning that if negotiations make no progress he could resume the attack within two to three days or early next week.

Meeting reporters at the White House on the 19th (local time), President Trump said, “I had already decided to resume the strike, but I received a call saying, ‘It looks like the negotiations are almost settled, so can you give it a few more days?’” and added, “There was one hour left (until the resumption of the strike). Otherwise, the strike would already have begun“ he said. It appeared intended to emphasize that he went right up to the brink of an actual strike to pressure Iran.

Asked how much time Iran had left, he said, “Two or three days, or Sunday or early next week,” adding, “Time is limited. Because we cannot allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons.”

He continued, “I hope we do not have to, but we may have to deliver another major blow,” and said, “Everyone says (a war with Iran) is unpopular, but when they realize this concerns nuclear weapons that could wipe out major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles in an instant, I think it is very popular.”

He also said that during a visit to China, Chinese President Xi Jinping promised not to send weapons to Iran, adding, “It was a beautiful promise and I trust President Xi’s word. I was truly grateful.”

According to the U.S. online outlet Axios, after deciding the previous day to postpone the strike, President Trump convened his national security team to review the status of talks and discuss various military options against Iran. The security team meeting was attended by Vice President J D Vance; Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Kane; Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe; and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

Axios analyzed that the fact that President Trump received a briefing on military action suggests he is seriously considering restarting the strike. However, U.S. officials said that when President Trump announced the previous day that he was putting the strike on hold, a final decision to strike had not actually been made.

At a press conference the same day, Vice President Vance also urged Iran to accept the U.S. demand to abandon nuclear weapons, warning that allowing Iran to have nuclear arms would trigger a ‘nuclear domino’ among countries around the Gulf. Vice President Vance said, “The negotiations with Iran are fairly good. We think we have made considerable progress,” adding, “But there is also ‘Option B’. That is to resume the military operation.” He argued that the talks with Iran have been sluggish because “Iran is a divided country, so it is hard to discern what it is trying to achieve.”

However, the Wall Street Journal, citing officials from mediating countries and U.S. officials, reported that, contrary to the Trump administration’s claim of progress, the gap between the two sides has barely narrowed. As a result, some aides are said to be advising that authorizing a limited strike could pressure Iran to seal a deal.

However, if the conflict escalates, a surge in oil prices and inflation would be hard to avoid, which could fuel war fatigue and backlash within the United States. President Trump’s continual delays of the final deadline he set for himself appear to be decisions driven more by his political needs than by deference to requests from Gulf states.