WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump has said that no foreign leader or ally persuaded him to refrain from launching a military strike against Iran, stating instead that he made the decision himself.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump was asked whether Arab or Israeli officials had influenced his decision not to attack Iran. In response, he said, “No one convinced me. I convinced myself.”
Trump also claimed that his decision had a significant impact inside Iran. He said that around 800 people were scheduled to be executed recently, but no executions ultimately took place. “That had a very big effect,” he added.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump thanked Iran’s leadership, saying he appreciated the decision not to carry out the planned executions of those individuals.
Earlier, The New York Times reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had requested Trump to delay a potential U.S. military strike on Iran.
According to the report, Netanyahu spoke with Trump on Wednesday, the same day Trump stated he had received information from “very important sources on the other side” indicating that killings of protesters in Iran had stopped and death sentences were not being carried out.
Separately, the British newspaper The Telegraph claimed that Trump changed his decision to attack Iran at the last moment following diplomatic efforts by Gulf countries.
The report said Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman held urgent talks with Washington and urged Trump to postpone military action, arguing that Iran should be given an opportunity to demonstrate “good behavior.”
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