President Trump said Monday the United States was fully prepared to launch a military strike against Iran before he made a last-minute decision to stand down and give diplomacy one more shot.
“I was an hour away from making the decision to go today,” Trump told reporters Monday, describing just how close the U.S. came to restarting Operation Epic Fury.
“We’re all set to go,” the president added. “It would have been happening right now. Yeah, it was all done, the boats, the ships were all loaded, they’re loaded to the brim, and we were all set to start.”
The dramatic remarks came just hours after Trump announced he would temporarily hold off on military action after direct outreach from key Middle Eastern allies pushing for renewed negotiations with Tehran.
Trump said leaders from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates urged him to pause and allow “serious negotiations” to move forward.
Watch the clip below:
REPORTER: "How close were you to striking Iran?" @POTUS: "I was an hour away. We were all set to go… it would have been happening right now." pic.twitter.com/JdtA8Ums03
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 19, 2026
More over at The New York Post:
Trump reveals how close he was to restarting strikes on Iran https://t.co/fl34k35qqQ pic.twitter.com/G18yWpJj2n
— New York Post (@nypost) May 19, 2026
