{"id":1637,"date":"2026-05-19T01:39:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T01:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1637"},"modified":"2026-05-19T01:39:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T01:39:58","slug":"trump-news-at-a-glance-president-says-scheduled-attack-on-iran-has-been-postponed-for-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1637","title":{"rendered":"Trump news at a glance: president says scheduled attack on Iran has been postponed \u2013 for now"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"2d446371-0c95-4d7c-bcb1-c481dc9067c5\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A large billboard shows a close-up face with a blue cloth covering the mouth, above busy street traffic in Tehran\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/80fbf45d698bb1f8f063d5d4deb7b110c3caddd1\/398_0_4164_3333\/master\/4164.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372.20100864553314\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">People drive past an anti-US billboard in Tehran depicting Donald Trump and the strait of Hormuz.<\/span> Photograph: Majid Asgaripour\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"2d446371-0c95-4d7c-bcb1-c481dc9067c5\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">People drive past an anti-US billboard in Tehran depicting Donald Trump and the strait of Hormuz.<\/span> Photograph: Majid Asgaripour\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<div class=\"dcr-13sure5\">\n<div class=\"dcr-47lvke\"><a href=\"\/tone\/explainers\" class=\"dcr-epjkf7\">Explainer<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Trump news at a glance: president says scheduled attack on Iran has been postponed \u2013 for now<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-b3fmmo\">\n<p>President says he has instructed US military to be ready for \u2018a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment\u2019s notice\u2019 \u2013 key US politics stories from Monday 18 May<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Donald Trump says he has called off a planned attack on Iran at the behest of Gulf states so talks could continue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In a post to his Truth Social platform, the US president claimed that the leaders of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia had approached Washington because of the chance of reaching a deal that would be \u201cvery acceptable\u201d to the US, and preclude Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In the same post, Trump said he has informed his military leaders \u201cto be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment\u2019s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">But while the president has regularly used social media to threaten Tehran, and to claim that a peace deal is within reach, there has been no sign of an immediate breakthrough in the stalled negotiations to end the war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A ceasefire has paused most violence after six weeks of US-Israeli airstrikes and Iranian retaliation, but there has been little progress since Trump said the ceasefire was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/11\/donald-trump-ceasefire-with-iran-on-life-support-reject-peace-proposals\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">\u201con life support\u201d<\/a>, with some Israeli media reports suggesting a resumption of hostilities is imminent.<\/p>\n<figure data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.QAndAExplainerBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div data-spacefinder-role=\"nested\">\n<hr class=\"dcr-1peeo35\">\n<h2 id=\"trump-claims-planned-attack-on-iran-postponed-for-now\" class=\"dcr-bry4uv\">Trump claims planned attack on Iran postponed for now<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The US president said he had instructed military leaders that \u201cwe will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment\u2019s notice\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The announcement came as Iran\u2019s foreign military spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, claimed Pakistan has shared Tehran\u2019s latest proposal with the US.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/18\/iran-new-proposal-deal-to-end-war-us-israel\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><sub class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-spacefinder-role=\"nested\">\n<hr class=\"dcr-1peeo35\">\n<h2 id=\"trumps-approval-rating-sinks-to-lowest-point-of-second-term\" class=\"dcr-bry4uv\">Trump\u2019s approval rating sinks to lowest point of second term<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> approval rating has fallen to its lowest point of his second term, amid mounting frustration over the cost of living and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/us-israel-war-on-iran\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">US-Israel war on Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">As November\u2019s US midterm elections loom, most American voters believe Trump\u2019s decision to go to war with Iran was the wrong choice, according to new polling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/donald-trump-second-term-approval-rating-drops\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><sub class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-spacefinder-role=\"nested\">\n<hr class=\"dcr-1peeo35\">\n<h2 id=\"trump-moves-to-dismiss-10bn-lawsuit-against-irs-amid-reports-hes-considering-settlement\" class=\"dcr-bry4uv\">Trump moves to dismiss $10bn lawsuit against IRS amid reports he\u2019s considering settlement<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172\/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172.52.0_5.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">moved to dismiss<\/a> a $10bn lawsuit against the IRS, dropping his claims <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/16\/trump-irs-lawsuit-compensation-fund\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">amid reports<\/a> he is considering a settlement with the federal government that would create a $1.7bn fund to compensate allies for supposed persecution by the government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The filing came just two days ahead of a 20 May deadline in which the judge overseeing the case asked the parties for briefing on whether a legitimate controversy existed \u2013 a requirement for any lawsuit \u2013 because Trump controls the IRS.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/trump-dismiss-10-billion-dollar-irs-lawsuit\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><sub class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-spacefinder-role=\"nested\">\n<hr class=\"dcr-1peeo35\">\n<h2 id=\"trumps-immigration-crackdown-could-cost-up-to-479bn-in-lost-taxes-over-10-years\" class=\"dcr-bry4uv\">Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown could cost up to $479bn in lost taxes over 10 years<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown could cause the US to potentially lose up to $479bn in lost tax revenue over the the next 10 years, with enforcement deterring undocumented workers from filing their taxes this year, according to tax experts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2026\/may\/18\/trump-immigration-crackdown-lost-taxes-ice\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><sub class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-spacefinder-role=\"nested\">\n<hr class=\"dcr-1peeo35\">\n<h2 id=\"trump-cuts-to-weather-data-could-make-forecasts-less-reliable-warn-experts\" class=\"dcr-bry4uv\">Trump cuts to weather data could make forecasts less reliable, warn experts<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">As the US prepares for hurricane season and a summer of record-breaking heat, experts fear the Trump administration\u2019s cuts to climate and weather data programming could make the federal government\u2019s weather forecasts less reliable when they are needed most.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/trump-cuts-ai-weather-prediction-forecasts\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><sub class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-spacefinder-role=\"nested\">\n<hr class=\"dcr-1peeo35\">\n<h2 id=\"trump-officials-plan-to-repeal-limits-on-forever-chemicals-in-drinking-water\" class=\"dcr-bry4uv\">Trump officials plan to repeal limits on \u2018forever chemicals\u2019 in drinking water<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Trump administration has announced a plan to kill Biden-era drinking water limits on four <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/pfas\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Pfas<\/a> \u201cforever chemicals\u201d, and to delay the implementation of standards for two other compounds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">PFAS are a class of at least 16,000 compounds most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant. They have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are dubbed \u201cforever chemicals\u201d because they do not naturally break down in the environment.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/trump-administration-epa-pfas-water\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><sub class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-spacefinder-role=\"nested\">\n<hr class=\"dcr-1peeo35\">\n<h2 id=\"new-york-times-sues-pentagon-again-over-press-restrictions\" class=\"dcr-bry4uv\">New York Times sues Pentagon again over press restrictions<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/new-york-times\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">The New York Times<\/a> has filed a second lawsuit against the Pentagon, arguing that its recent policy requiring journalists to have official escorts when on Pentagon grounds is unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In a suit filed in the US district court in Washington on Monday, the Times argued that an interim policy introduced in the spring had imposed \u201cutterly unreasonable\u201d restrictions on journalists attempting to cover the department.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/new-york-times-pentagon-press-restrictions-lawsuit\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><sub class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Read the full story<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-spacefinder-role=\"nested\">\n<hr class=\"dcr-1peeo35\">\n<h2 id=\"what-else-happened-today\" class=\"dcr-bry4uv\">What else happened today:<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\n<li class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/active-shooter-report-san-diego-islamic-center\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Three people were killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego<\/a><\/strong>, in what authorities said was being investigated as a hate crime. Two suspects, aged 17 and 19, were also dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, officials said.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Cuba\u2019s president, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/18\/cuba-warns-of-bloodbath-us-military-drone-claim\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">has warned that any US military action against his country would lead to a \u201cbloodbath\u201d with incalculable consequences<\/a><\/strong> for regional peace and stability. \u201cCuba does not represent a threat,\u201d D\u00edaz-Canel said in a post on X.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2026\/may\/18\/sam-altman-trial-victory-elon-musk-openai\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">A jury ruled in favor of Sam Altman in the culmination of a long and bitter legal battle<\/a><\/strong> that pitted the richest person in the world against a leader of the AI boom.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/us-ebola-virus-congo-uganda\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">US health authorities confirmed on Monday that an American has developed Ebola<\/a><\/strong>after being exposed during their work in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/congo\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Democratic Republic of Congo<\/a> (DRC); officials also said that they were taking \u201cproactive measures\u201d to protect US citizens in response to the ongoing Ebola virus epidemic in the DRC and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/uganda\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Uganda<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/18\/greenland-us-doctor-visit-trump-envoy-deeply-problematic\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Greenland\u2019s government has criticised the arrival of a US doctor in Nuuk<\/a> <\/strong>alongside Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy, Jeff Landry, saying that Greenlanders are not \u201cexperimental subjects\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<hr class=\"dcr-ibrox0\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Catching up?<em> Here\u2019s what happened <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/trump-news-at-a-glance-latest-updates-today\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Sunday 17 May<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"d526d65c-8fda-4a41-b2f3-f90c21708985\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.EmbedBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/trump-administration\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Trump administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/series\/trump-administration-briefing\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Trump administration briefing<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/explainers\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">explainers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Trump%20news%20at%20a%20glance:%20president%20says%20scheduled%20attack%20on%20Iran%20has%20been%20postponed%20%E2%80%93%20for%20now&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/trump-news-at-a-glance-iran?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F18%2Ftrump-news-at-a-glance-iran&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/trump-news-at-a-glance-iran\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People drive past an anti-US billboard in Tehran depicting Donald Trump and the strait of Hormuz. Photograph: Majid<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1637"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1640,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1637\/revisions\/1640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}