US President Donald Trump has said he halted fresh strikes on Iran at the request of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, asserting that serious discussions were underway with Tehran that could lead to an acceptable deal.

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social on Monday late afternoon, without any reference to Pakistan, the mediator in the US-Iran war.

“I have been asked by 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, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday),” Trump said.

"We were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow. I've put it off for a little while, hopefully, maybe forever, but possibly for a little while, because we've had very big discussions with Iran and we'll see what they amount to," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Trump said he was asked by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and some others if the US could put it off for 2 or 3 days, a short period of time, because they think that they are getting very close to making a deal. “And if we can do that where there's no nuclear weapon going into the hands of Iran, I think, and if they're satisfied, we will be probably satisfied," he said.

The US President said that serious negotiations are now taking place, and that, in their opinion, as Great Leaders and Allies, a deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all countries in West Asia and beyond. Trump asserted that the deal will include " no nuclear weapons for Iran".

"I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, The Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Caine, and The United States Military, that we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them 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," he said.

Trump was expected to convene his top national security team in the Situation Room on Tuesday to discuss military options, two US officials told Axios.

Before his announcement, Trump spoke on the phone with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, two sources with knowledge said, according to Axios. Trump has been threatening for weeks that the ceasefire reached in mid-April could end if Iran did not make a deal, with shifting parameters for striking such an agreement. “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won't be anything left of them,” the US President said over the weekend.

Trump said the current pause for negotiations was a “very positive development," while acknowledging there were times in the past when a deal seemed close but nothing came of it. “But this is a little bit different,” he said.The US and Israel launched the war with Iran on February 28, with Trump claiming that it would end in four to six weeks. The US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire on April 8 and have been negotiating a peace deal since then.