Washington halts attack as talks gain pace

US President Donald Trump said he was deferring a "planned" military attack on Iran, which was supposed to take place on Tuesday, following "serious negotiations" with Gulf states that would be "acceptable" to Washington and its allies.

In a social media post, Trump said he had been asked by the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to "hold off" the strikes as "a deal will be made" that would be acceptable to the United States, its allies and "countries in the Middle East and beyond".

"This deal will include, importantly, no nuclear weapons for Iran!" he wrote on Monday, adding that he had instructed the defense secretary, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the US military "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".

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said a dialogue "does not mean surrender".

Iran enters into dialogue "with dignity, authority, and the preservation of the nation's rights", he said on X, adding that under no circumstances will Tehran retreat from the legal rights of the people and the country.

"We will serve the people with logic and with all our might, to the end, and safeguard the interests and honor of Iran," he said.

Major General Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned the US and its allies not to repeat a "strategic mistake" and miscalculation against Iran, as a renewed act of aggression would be met with a "swift, decisive, powerful and extensive" response.

The US and Iran have been threatening each other as they tussle with one another over sticking points in a stalled ceasefire deal and control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on X that Senate Democrats would force an eighth vote on a War Powers Resolution this week, which aims to curtail the president's capacity to wage war against Iran.

Schumer called for Republican support for the resolution and to "end the war (and) get our troops out of harm's way".

Trump's approval rating has dipped to a record low amid the war against Tehran, according to a New York Times/Siena poll published on Monday.

Overall, 64 percent of respondents said it was wrong for the US to go to war with Iran, while 30 percent said it was the right decision. The majority of Republicans polled thought it was the right decision, while 73 percent of independents considered it as the incorrect decision.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told the Parliament's national security commission that Iran is not going to give up on its right to enrich uranium, Al Jazeera reported. The US has insisted that Iran must stop enriching uranium for the next two decades.

Blockade of strait

Iran has also asked the US to end its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, but the US has said that Iran must first reopen the strait before it will do so.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the United Nations secretary-general, had earlier said the UN does not want any particular entity to restrict access to the strategic waterway.

"Ultimately, for us, we want to make sure that there's no constraint to freedom of navigation on the high seas and on the Strait of Hormuz," he said.

Rasha Al Joundy, a senior researcher at the Dubai Public Policy Research Centre, told China Daily that it is "obvious" that the US does not want to restart the war, especially if there is a possibility for a deal with Iran.

"Trump has a very difficult situation. If he starts the war again, it would mean a more dangerous one, in terms of targets and reactions," she said. "Then, in terms of the global economy, he needs this deal to come through and to be valid."