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Donald Trump says he has called off a planned attack on Iran at the behest of Gulf states so talks could continue.
In a post to his Truth Social platform, the US president claimed that the leaders of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia had approached Washington because of the chance of reaching a deal that would be “very acceptable” to the US, and preclude Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
In the same post, Trump said he has informed his military leaders “to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached”.
But while the president has regularly used social media to threaten Tehran, and to claim that a peace deal is within reach, there has been no sign of an immediate breakthrough in the stalled negotiations to end the war.
A ceasefire has paused most violence after six weeks of US-Israeli airstrikes and Iranian retaliation, but there has been little progress since Trump said the ceasefire was “on life support”, with some Israeli media reports suggesting a resumption of hostilities is imminent.
Trump claims planned attack on Iran postponed for now
The US president said he had instructed military leaders that “we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice”.
The announcement came as Iran’s foreign military spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, claimed Pakistan has shared Tehran’s latest proposal with the US.
Trump’s approval rating sinks to lowest point of second term
Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest point of his second term, amid mounting frustration over the cost of living and the US-Israel war on Iran.
As November’s US midterm elections loom, most American voters believe Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran was the wrong choice, according to new polling.
Trump moves to dismiss $10bn lawsuit against IRS amid reports he’s considering settlement
Donald Trump moved to dismiss a $10bn lawsuit against the IRS, dropping his claims amid reports he is considering a settlement with the federal government that would create a $1.7bn fund to compensate allies for supposed persecution by the government.
The filing came just two days ahead of a 20 May deadline in which the judge overseeing the case asked the parties for briefing on whether a legitimate controversy existed – a requirement for any lawsuit – because Trump controls the IRS.
Trump’s immigration crackdown could cost up to $479bn in lost taxes over 10 years
The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown could cause the US to potentially lose up to $479bn in lost tax revenue over the the next 10 years, with enforcement deterring undocumented workers from filing their taxes this year, according to tax experts.
Trump cuts to weather data could make forecasts less reliable, warn experts
As the US prepares for hurricane season and a summer of record-breaking heat, experts fear the Trump administration’s cuts to climate and weather data programming could make the federal government’s weather forecasts less reliable when they are needed most.
Trump officials plan to repeal limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water
The Trump administration has announced a plan to kill Biden-era drinking water limits on four Pfas “forever chemicals”, and to delay the implementation of standards for two other compounds.
PFAS are a class of at least 16,000 compounds most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant. They have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down in the environment.
New York Times sues Pentagon again over press restrictions
The New York Times has filed a second lawsuit against the Pentagon, arguing that its recent policy requiring journalists to have official escorts when on Pentagon grounds is unconstitutional.
In a suit filed in the US district court in Washington on Monday, the Times argued that an interim policy introduced in the spring had imposed “utterly unreasonable” restrictions on journalists attempting to cover the department.
Catching up? Here’s what happened Sunday 17 May
