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See the full story · 3 sourcesPresident Trump said that a halted strike on Iran would have been the ‘biggest attack since World War Two’
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President Trump has insisted that he is not “looking to kill people” amid the war in Iran – claiming that a peace deal is “imminent.”
The president made the claims to reporters aboard Air Force One , as he revealed more about calling off further strikes on Iran. According to him, the strikes would have been the “biggest attack since World War Two.”
“Would I rather make a deal?” Trump said. “I’m not looking to kill people…because people die, a lot of people, and we don’t want that.”
The president also suggested that Iran asked the U.S. “very strongly” to call off the strikes and said: “We’d like to make a deal.”
Trump added that Saudi Arabia also called for the U.S. to hold off on unleashing the attack on Iran, with Saudi Arabia believing that a deal is “imminent.”
“The deal is imminent having to do with the Hormuz Strait and also, ultimately, the denuclearization of Iran,” he said.
Trump went on to say that Mohammed bin Salman , the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, told him that his country would prefer for the United States to reach an agreement with Iran.
The president also told reporters that the U.S. is talking to Iran in “the form of a negotiation” that is set to begin on Monday afternoon.
On Saturday, Trump took to Truth Social to say that the strike was called off “in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
According to him, those “perimeters” include a complete reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and an “end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”
Trump said that the attack was called off to allow a deal to be made “rapidly,” with Israel joining him in his “commitment.”
The war with Iran has ground on for five months, after erupting on February 28. During the conflict, 18 U.S. service members have died.
The war has become increasingly unpopular , with just 28 percent of U.S. adults approving of the president’s handling of the conflict, according to an AP-NORC poll .
Conducted between July 23 and July 27, the poll also found that support for the conflict had slipped among Republicans , with just 61 percent approving. In June, that figure stood at 71 percent.
Only around 2 in 10 Americans support continued military action, with 3 in 10 calling for a pause in fighting to negotiate a ceasefire. Meanwhile, around 2 in 10 want military action to cease altogether.
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