Trump says there will be no strike on Iran today; Qatari delegation in Tehran

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States would not strike Iran that day.

“Would I tell you that? The answer is no, there will not be a strike today,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for Michigan, when asked whether strikes could resume as soon as Sunday.

A senior Iranian official confirmed to Al Jazeera that a Qatari delegation travelled to Tehran on Sunday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, called the visit part of routine exchanges between the two countries during heightened tensions.

“The main obstacle to a diplomatic solution is not mediation, but the US refusal to accept Iran’s legitimate demands and its constant reneging on its commitments,” the official said.

Qatari mediators were in Tehran as part of a U.S.-coordinated effort to reduce regional tensions, an official briefed on the matter told Reuters.

Earlier on Sunday, Trump told Fox News the choice was between a deal and military action. “Do I make a deal with them, or do I finish them off? That’s the only question,” he said.

Trump said U.S. forces control the Strait of Hormuz and commercial traffic through it exceeds pre-war levels. “Remember, we now control the Hormuz Strait. They get nothing. Yes, we get everything,” he said.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday Iran would respond “beyond their imagination” to any violation of its territorial integrity. Iran’s army said it shot down a U.S. LUCAS drone over the port city of Bandar Abbas.

On Saturday, Trump said the United States could strike Iran as soon as “tomorrow” or reach a deal.

Tasnim, an IRGC-affiliated news agency, said on Saturday, citing an informed source, that Iran made no new proposal to Pakistani mediators and rejects reopening the strait in exchange for lifting the U.S. blockade. Al Arabiya had reported such an offer, citing unnamed sources.

The New York Times reported, citing senior U.S. officials, that Trump privately appeared inclined toward another round of major strikes. The Hill reported, citing two sources, that the U.S. military has prepared options for strikes after November’s midterm elections.

AFP reported nearly a dozen empty Iranian tankers are anchored outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, unable to return home because of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports.

The Saudi-led coalition said on Sunday it intercepted drones and missiles launched by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis toward Riyadh and southern Saudi Arabia.