Trump says new talks with Iran to begin on Monday after calling off strikes

US President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran will begin on Monday after he decided to hold off on new strikes against the Islamic republic to pursue a deal.

“Obviously, they don’t want to be attacked. They knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming,” Trump told reporters on Sunday aboard Air Force One.

“Now what we’re doing is we’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon,” Trump said without providing further details of the venue of the talks or the participants.

Explaining his decision-making, Trump said he had been asked by Iran as well as US partners Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to hold off on the strikes.

“When the allies asked to call it off, you’ve got to sort [of] say: ‘Well, let’s see.’ And the reason they ask is they think there’s a deal,” Trump said.

“There’s a deal on (the Strait of) Hormuz and then there will be a deal on the nuclear, or you might call it the denuclearisation of Iran.”