President says planned 'massive attack' was called off as allies push for negotiations

The president told reporters that a planned military strike had been prepared but was called off at the request of regional partners and Iran. "We had a we had an attack that would be the biggest attack since World War 2, and it would have been disastrous for them," the president said, adding that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iran asked the United States not to proceed and instead favored talks.

He said negotiations would start "tomorrow afternoon" and described the talks as focused on the Strait of Hormuz and what he termed "the denuclearization of our end." The president repeatedly framed the pause as a choice made to avoid wider loss of life and regional disruption, saying he preferred to pursue a deal if possible and that the United States remained ready to act if negotiations failed.