President Donald Trump speaks to the press near the construction site of his proposed ballroom at the White House in Washington, May 19, 2026.
Kent Nishimura | Afp | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said he was “an hour away” from deciding whether to attack Iran on Tuesday before he was convinced to postpone the strike for a few days.
“We were all set to go … It would have been happening right now,” Trump told reporters Tuesday at the White House when asked how close he was to ordering that attack, which would have officially ended the shaky U.S.-Iran ceasefire that remains nominally in place.
Trump claimed in a Truth Social post Monday afternoon that he was delaying a previously unannounced strike planned for Tuesday because several Middle Eastern leaders asked him to “hold off” in light of ongoing discussions with Iran.
There had been no clear indication prior to Trump’s post that the U.S. was preparing to strike Iran on Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal reported that Gulf officials from some of the countries Trump mentioned said they were not aware of the imminent plan to attack Iran.
Trump himself said later in Tuesday’s remarks, “I didn’t tell them.”
“I never tell anybody when, but they knew that we were very close,” he said. “I would say we were, I was an hour away from making the decision to go today.”
He then said, “I had made the decision. So they called up, they had heard I made the decision, and said, ‘Sir, could you give us a couple of more days? Because we think they’re being reasonable.'”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was in Kentucky campaigning against Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., on Monday.
Asked how long Iran has to come to the table, Trump said it could be two or three days, or perhaps until Sunday or early next week. “A limited period of time, because we can’t let them have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
The war has appeared stuck in an uneasy stalemate for weeks, as a ceasefire remains active but the two sides continue to grapple for control over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital pathway for global oil shipping.
Trump has repeatedly threatened further military action against Iran, only to delay deadlines he’s set.
The war, which began Feb. 28 and has dragged on far longer than the Trump administration’s initial four-to-six-week timeline, is viewed negatively by growing majorities of Americans, according to recent polls.
A New York Times-Siena poll released Monday found 31% of registered U.S. voters approve of how Trump has handled the Iran war while 65% disapprove, with most of the disapprovers saying they “strongly disapprove.”
Trump said Tuesday that he believes people who understand the administration’s goals support the operations.
“Everyone tells me it’s unpopular, but I think it’s very popular when they hear that it’s having to do with nuclear weapons, weapons that could take out Los Angeles, could take out major cities,” he said.
“When we explain it to people — I don’t really have enough time to explain to people, I’m too busy getting it done. When they understand, I think it’s frankly very popular,” he said. “But whether it’s popular or not popular, I have to do it.”
