At the last second, Iran's neighbors in the Middle East reportedly made President Trump change his mind.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman "led a long, frantic, last-minute diplomatic effort" to convince Trump not to attack Iran, according to a senior Saudi official who spoke to the AFP news agency.
An American military intervention in Iran would have risked serious consequences for the region, the countries are said to have insisted during talks with the US. The dialogue with the Trump administration is still ongoing, the anonymous source said on Thursday.
It was a sleepless night trying to defuse more bombs in the region, the official said.
According to Iran's envoy to Pakistan, US President Donald Trump subsequently informed Iran that the US did not intend to attack, reports the Pakistani news site Dawn .
According to the envoy's information, which has not been independently verified but is being reported by media outlets in the Middle East, Trump said he did not want war and asked Iran to exercise restraint. He also reportedly asked Iran not to attack American interests in the region.
Egypt is also said to be involved in urgent efforts to calm the situation. The country's foreign minister has begun a series of talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff and representatives of France, Oman and Iraq, the Ansa news agency reports.
