Trump delays US attack on Iran but nukes are still a sticking point

Donald Trump has cancelled an imminent attack on Iran at the request of the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE and the prospect of ‘serious negotiations’.

However, he instructed the US military to be ready to launch a “full, large-scale assault” of Iran at “a moment’s notice”. This is if the US, Israel, and Iran do not reach an “acceptable” deal.

Trump toddler mode

In his usual toddler-style rant on Truth Social, Trump said that:

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.

According to the leaders, a deal will be made that will be “very acceptable” to the US.

However, according to the Wall Street Journal:

Several Gulf officials from some of the countries Trump mentioned said they were not aware of the imminent plan to attack Iran he described.

It is still unclear if Iran, Israel and the US have made a breakthrough in their peace talks.

Importantly, Trump finished by saying that the US needed to be ready to attack Iran, if and when he decided it was the right time. He said:

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.

Nuclear weapons

Only days before this Truth Social rant, Trump wrote that the “clock is ticking” for Iran to strike a deal. He also said there “won’t be anything left of them.”

In the latest rant, along with previous ones, Trump continues to reiterate that a deal must include:

NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!

However, there is zero evidence that Iran either has the desire to build a nuclear weapon or has attempted to make one.

Israel has been claiming for the last 30 years that Iran is only weeks away from developing a nuclear bomb.

In 2025, the US Director of National Intelligence stated that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon.

Additionally, nuclear experts, including the chief of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also said there was no evidence that Iran was close to a nuclear weapon.

Iran has always insisted its nuclear programme is for civilian use only, such as for power generation and medical research. This requires uranium enrichment of between 3% and 5%.

Some research-grade uranium sits between 20 and 85% enrichment. Some countries use this in specialised research reactors to produce medical isotopes. It is well recorded that Iran uses its nuclear facilities to develop and test many drugs, including those for cancer treatment.

Non-Proliferation Treaty

Uranium has to reach at least 90% enrichment for nuclear weapons even to be possible. Experts suggest that Iran is at around 60% enrichment, the level used for research purposes.

However, in June 2025, the US and Israel launched even more illegal attacks on Iran over the course of 12 days.

The strikes severely damaged enrichment facilities, weapons depots, and command centres. This set back Iran’s nuclear program by years. Trump claimed the attacks “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities. However, it’s unclear whether that is true, as in February 2026, Trump claimed that Iran’s enriched uranium was the reason for its illegal attacks.

Hilariously, though, Israel is one of only five countries which have not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

It was established in 1968 and is a landmark international agreement. It aimed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Iran is a signatory to this pact. Israel is not. What does that tell you?

Imperialism

Netanyahu has been claiming Iran is close to nukes since 1992. Still, every single time he says it, the US, along with the rest of the colonialist West, laps it up.

It’s the same playbook that the US and UK used in their illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003. A Western colonial power attacks a majority-muslim country under the guise of weapons of mass destruction. They never existed. It is the same racist, imperialist mindset that led to the creation of Israel, and every war, US-led regime change, and illegal invasion since then.

Feature image via Alex Wong /Getty Images

By HG

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