What is the story about?
United States President Donald Trump said that the American forces were ready to launch a massive attack on Iran; however, he called it off following requests
from Tehran and other Gulf countries. "...It was going to be a massive attack. It was going to be an attack that would have been by far the biggest attack since World War II. But they've (Iran) asked us not to do it. They said, 'Please don't do it'. Their neighbours said that too. And so we're just going to see whether or not we can make a deal toward the denuclearisation," Trump told reporters.
Trump, however, emphasised that the military option hasn't gone away and the US remains ready to act whenever it chooses to. "We'll see how it is. We're ready to go any time we want. Would I rather make a deal? I'm not looking to kill people... We don't want that."
Trump said negotiations with Iran, likely conducted through intermediaries, are set to begin Monday, August 3.
Meanwhile, Iranian media carried no reports confirming any request to pause military action and rather presented it as a retreat by Washington.
The semi-official news agency Fars posted, while reporting on the development, "Trump the fool has run out of steam!"
Simultaneously, the semi-official news agency Mehr rejected assertions that Tehran had sought a cessation of strikes, reporting that "Trump once again backed away from his hollow threats and presented his retreat to the world as a favour."
Citing military officials, Mehr characterised Trump's statement as "nothing but a new lie," adding that Iranian armed forces remained "on high alert and ready for any eventuality."
