Trump postpones Iran attack after Gulf leaders' request, citing 'serious negotiations'

President Trump announced Monday that he had postponed an attack on Iran scheduled for Tuesday at the request of Gulf leaders, confirming that "serious negotiations" are underway with Tehran.

However, the US president added in a post on his Truth Social platform that the United States is ready to launch a "comprehensive and wide-ranging attack on Iran at any moment, if an acceptable agreement is not reached" with the Islamic Republic.

Trump explained: "The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, asked me to postpone the planned military attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow, due to the serious negotiations currently underway, and because they, as great leaders and allies, believe that an agreement acceptable to the United States of America, as well as to all Middle Eastern countries and beyond, will be reached."

He continued: "This agreement essentially includes Iran not possessing nuclear weapons! Out of respect for the aforementioned leaders, I have instructed the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Hokanson, and the US Armed Forces, that we will not launch the planned attack on Iran tomorrow, but I have also directed them to be prepared to launch a comprehensive and wide-ranging attack on Iran, at any moment, in the event that an acceptable agreement is not reached. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

The United States on Monday suspended its cooperation with Canada in a joint advisory body concerned with defense matters, established 86 years ago, in the latest chapter of tension in relations between the two neighboring countries.

A post by US Assistant Secretary of Defense Albrdge Colby on the "X" platform stated that the Pentagon is "suspending" its participation in the "Permanent Joint Board on Defense" established in 1940, according to "Agence France-Presse."

The move comes in the wake of President Donald Trump imposing customs duties on Canada and his repeated calls to make the country the 51st US state. Trump is urging traditional US allies to increase military spending and reduce their reliance on American protection.

Colby said in his post: "Unfortunately, Canada has failed to make reliable progress on its defense commitments." He added in a criticism directed at Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney: "We can no longer ignore the gap between rhetoric and reality."

Carney had stressed in a speech he delivered in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that the global order is suffering from "cracks," and said: "We have largely avoided highlighting the gap between rhetoric and reality."

The board includes military and civilian representatives from the United States and Canada, and is responsible for studying joint defense issues and providing policy recommendations to the governments of the two countries.

Under a plan announced by Carney in February, Canada will invest 500 billion Canadian dollars (360 billion US dollars) in its defense industries over the next ten years.

Carney acknowledged at the time that Canada had not made sufficient efforts to defend itself in an increasingly dangerous world, and that reliance on American protection was no longer a viable option. He said: "We have relied too much on our geography and on others to protect us."

In April, Canadian Chief of Staff Jenny Carignan expressed her satisfaction in a statement to "Agence France-Presse" that military spending had reached 2 percent of GDP, in line with the target set by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The "Joint Board" was established during the era of former US President Franklin Roosevelt and former Canadian Prime Minister William King.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez accused the administration of US President Donald Trump of "fabricating a case" to justify economic sanctions and potential military intervention, a day after the leak of secret intelligence information indicating that Cuba had obtained more than 300 military drones for use against US interests.

Days after a surprise visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Havana, and amid increasing threats from President Trump to use military force to subdue the communist island, the "Axios" website quoted a senior US official as saying that the administration is concerned about developments in drone warfare and the presence of Iranian military advisors in Cuba.

The official, who was not named, said: "When we consider the presence of these technologies close to us, and the presence of multiple hostile actors, from terrorist groups to drug cartops, and from Iranians to Russians, it is a cause for concern." He added that it represents "a growing threat."

The website attributed to US officials that Cuba began acquiring attack drones from Russia and Iran since 2023, and is seeking to purchase more. Havana has even discussed plans to use drones to attack the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, US military ships, and the coastal area of Key West, Florida.

Self-defense

Cuban officials were quick to strongly criticize the report. The Cuban Foreign Minister did not mention these US claims. However, he accused Washington of planning its next war without any basis. Rodríguez wrote on social media that "without any legitimate justification whatsoever, the US government is fabricating, day after day, flimsy pretexts to justify a brutal economic war against the Cuban people, and potential military aggression." He affirmed that "Cuba does not threaten war and does not desire it," but rather "defends peace and prepares itself to face any external aggression within the framework of exercising its legitimate right to self-defense, a right recognized under the UN Charter."

Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío also wrote on "X" that "the anti-Cuba campaign aimed at justifying a military attack against it without any excuse whatsoever is intensifying hour by hour, with accusations that are increasingly distant from reality." He added that "the United States is the aggressor. Cuba is the country being attacked, and it is acting in accordance with the principle of self-defense."

Cubans suffer from frequent power outages as a result of the blockade imposed by President Trump on fuel. The communist island has been in confrontation with successive US administrations since the 1960s, and South Florida hosts a large, politically influential Cuban diaspora in exile.

"Axios" reported that Ratcliffe warned Cuban officials against engaging in any hostile acts. It attributed to a CIA official that the agency's director "made it clear that Cuba can no longer be a platform for adversaries to promote hostile agendas in the Western Hemisphere."

Trump had stated that the United States would control the Caribbean island, which is only about 145 kilometers from Florida, "almost immediately." He also said after the US military operation that overthrew Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that "Cuba will be the next target."

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel responded that his country is ready to fight if that happens.

US media also reported that authorities in the United States are seeking to indict former Cuban President Raúl Castro, who is the brother of the late leader Fidel Castro and his companion in the Cuban Revolution that overthrew the regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista on January 1, 1959.

Sources in the US Department of Justice said they intend to indict Castro on charges related to Cuba's downing of two aircraft belonging to the humanitarian organization "Brothers to Rescue" in 1996. This charge against the 94-year-old revolutionary icon would represent a significant escalation in the pressure campaign led by the Trump administration on Cuba.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on Monday that Moscow is in continuous contact with the Cuban leadership to determine what can be done to alleviate the impact of the US oil blockade on the island.