Trump Says Iran Strike Called Off After Gulf Allies Appealed (1)

May 19, 2026, 1:35 PM UTC

US President Donald Trump said he held off on a new bombardment of Iran planned for Tuesday at the request of Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf allies, who are now pushing for a deal to end the war.

The US delayed the strikes “for a little while, hopefully maybe forever,” because “we’ve had very big discussions with Iran, and we’ll see what they amount to,” Trump said at the White House on Monday evening.

Hours earlier, he said he was asked by the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to suspend plans for renewed strikes ...

Learn more about Bloomberg Government or Log In to keep reading:

See Breaking News in Context

Providing news, analysis, data and opportunity insights.

Already a subscriber?

Log in to keep reading or access research tools and resources.