Trump Claims US Can Attack Iran Again, But Tehran Wants Deal

JAKARTA - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States may need to strike Iran again, and he was just an hour away from deciding on an attack before postponing it.

President Trump spoke to reporters at the White House a day after saying he had put off plans to resume the offensive following a new peace proposal from Tehran.

"I'm only an hour away from making a decision to attack today," President Trump said on Tuesday, launching Al Arabiya from Reuters (20/5).

The Republican president also claimed Iranian leaders were begging to make a deal, but US strikes would only happen in the coming days if a deal was not reached.

"Well, I mean, I said two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week, a limited time frame, because we can't let them have new nuclear weapons," he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian state media said Tehran's latest peace proposal included an end to hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, the withdrawal of US forces from areas close to Iran, and compensation for damage caused by the US-Israeli war.

In Tehran's first comments on the proposal, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran also wanted the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen funds, and the end of the US maritime blockade of the country, according to the IRNA news agency.

The conditions outlined in the Iranian report appear to be little changed from Iran's previous offer, which President Trump rejected last week as "garbage."

Reuters could not confirm whether preparations had been made for an attack that would mark an update to the war Trump began in late February.

Under pressure to reach an agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz - a key supply route for global oil and other commodity supplies - President Trump has previously expressed hope that an agreement to end the conflict is imminent, and has also threatened a major attack on Iran if Tehran does not reach an agreement.