Trump says Iran must be denied nuclear arms, pauses strike amid talks

U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran will “never” be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon and suggested a diplomatic "thaw" could be imminent — through either an agreement or military action. He revealed he was "an hour away" from authorizing a military strike before suspending the operation and has given Tehran a short window of "two or three days" to respond. Trump said he hopes further military action will not be necessary but warned another "strong strike" remains on the table.

He added that several world leaders contacted him reporting "significant progress" and accused Democrats of trying to obstruct negotiations. Trump accused Iran of seeking to destabilize the Middle East, insisted the Strait of Hormuz is "international waters," and described Tehran's capacity to retaliate as "limited." He said he was prepared to accept a 25 percent market drop to avert what he called a "nuclear holocaust," and cited appeals from Gulf leaders and ongoing "serious negotiations" with Tehran for postponing the planned strike, as reported by SANA