Washington halts attack as talks gain pace

Standoff shifts toward diplomacy after Gulf push points to 'acceptable' offer

US President Donald Trump said he was deferring a "planned" military attack on Iran, which was supposed to take place on Tuesday, following "serious negotiations" with Gulf states that would be "acceptable" to Washington and its allies.

In a social media post, Trump said he had been asked by the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to "hold off" the strikes as "a deal will be made" that would be acceptable to the United States, its allies and "countries in the Middle East and beyond".

"This deal will include, importantly, no nuclear weapons for Iran!" he wrote on Monday, adding that he had instructed the defense secretary, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the US military "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".