Trump Rules Out Strike on Iran for Now but Keeps Military Option Open

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States will not carry out a military strike against Iran that day, though he stopped short of ruling out action in the future.

A reporter asked whether an American attack could come as soon as Sunday. Trump answered with a question of his own: "Would I tell you that? The answer is no. There will not be a strike today."

Earlier in the day, the president told reporters he had not yet decided whether to resume strikes on Iran. He framed the choice in simple terms. "Should I finish the job - which would be very easy to do - or should I reach an agreement? That is the whole decision," he said.

Trump also addressed what Washington is seeing on the ground. He said the United States is closely watching Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site, along with three other facilities that were reportedly destroyed in earlier strikes. According to the president, "There isn't much activity going on there."

His remarks followed a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who wrote on X that Israel faces a "real and tangible existential danger" from Iran. Netanyahu argued that only a narrow window remains for Israel and the United States to act and bring about Iran's complete defeat.

Netanyahu also posted a video filmed at one of the Israel Defense Forces' anti-missile batteries. In it, he said the IDF is ready on both defense and offense, and he issued a warning to Israel's adversaries: "you will absorb strikes out of proportion, stronger than you can even imagine."

The president's comments on Sunday came two days after he suggested another operation was under consideration. Speaking at a rally in Florida ahead of the midterm elections on Friday, Trump said the United States "may do another little Epic Fury."

For now, the public positions of the two leaders differ in tone. Trump has described a decision still in the balance between further force and a negotiated settlement, while Netanyahu has stressed urgency and the scale of the threat he says Israel faces.