Trump delays Iran strikes as fears grow over wider regional war

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]Let's take this on with Alex Marwood who's a US security and foreign policy journalist. He's in Washington DC. Alex, great to have you with us. Uh so Donald Trump saying that he stopped striking Iran again because a deal is close. Do you think that's the case? Is there a genuine framework for negotiations at this moment or is he just buying time?

[00:00:21]>> Nick, I I do believe that he stopped the strikes because of the request from close allies, but I do not think that a deal is close. Um, of course, we can't put too much faith into his timelines.

[00:00:33]Uh, we've heard Donald Trump talk quite often about uh allowing two weeks for something to happen, whether it's with regards to Ukraine, Gaza, um, or or the Iranian uh, you know, discussions that are very much ongoing. I think there has been a real sense here in Washington among sources that I've spoken with um, that Trump's patience has worn thin. Uh we've had the ceasefire in place for several weeks now, but the talks have not gone anywhere. There's been one round of talks in person in Islamabad.

[00:01:03]Uh the sides continue to talk to each other from afar through the mediators Pakistan along with uh Gulf allies as well as Turkey. U but they really have not gone anywhere. So there is still a real potential that if this log jam remains that the US could relaunch military strikes um and that they could go beyond military targets to encompass uh or go after civilian targets like the power grid, bridges, uh things like that. uh raising uh questions not only of uh whether the US is breaking the the laws of war uh but also uh whether uh you know the the invitation for the Iranians uh to then go back and strike allies in the region. So there is a significant potential uh for another round another salvo if you will of military action.

[00:01:54]>> Alex, I just want to read you this tweet that we've heard. We'll post you on next from the Iran's foreign minister Abbas Arachi. He says that uh the months after the initiation of war on Iran, the US Congress acknowledges the loss of dozens of aircraft worth billions. Our powerful armed forces, he says, are confirmed as first to strike down a touted F-35 with lessons learned and knowledged we gained return a return to war will feature many more surprises.

[00:02:23]How will that kind of rhetoric be received by the US administration?

[00:02:30]Well, I think that that's something that the U US military and the intelligence community know full well. It's more than 40 American aircraft that have been shot down of of all kinds. Uh the Iranians have proven to be remarkably resilient when it comes to the Israeli and the American strikes. And despite the fact that time and time again, we've heard from the defense secretary uh Pete Hegsath and other administration officials uh that the US and and the Israelis have managed to decimate these different parts uh of the Iranian military. uh we have from reporting from the Washington Post, from the New York Times and elsewhere that the CIA has assessed that in fact uh Iran maintains uh formidable capabilities that more than 70% of their mobile launchers of their original ballistic missile capability remain in place. Yes, there has been harm done uh to Iran's navy, but Iran, as we have seen, does not have to do very much uh to shut down the straight of Hormuz and to harass boats in the straight of Hormuz, whether it's with those fast little vessels that the Iranians have, uh whether it's with drones. And to the point that I was just making, if the US decides to then to go after Iran again militarily, [snorts] Iran maintains those significant capabilities to not just attack uh US forces in the region, to not just go after Israel yet again. And and remember, Israel has faced a real onslaught of of Iranian missiles, but also to go after those Gulf countries uh that are so much closer to the Iranians going after their civilian infrastructure and their oil infrastructure.

[00:03:56]>> All right. And on that front, if it is indeed true that the Qatar and Saudi and the UAE convince the president to hold back, what does that say about the leverage of Gulf nations at this time to be able to do that, to convince him to restrain himself?

[00:04:12]>> I think it's significant, but I think it speaks more to the desire for the Trump administration, for the president himself to not have to go back to war.

[00:04:22]Um I do think that their preference is to go down the diplomatic path. It's just that they are immensely frustrated with the lack of success on the diplomatic path and they at the end of the day they would like to come to come some come to some kind of resolution but the Iranians are not budging and President Trump has decided that he when he ends this where there's an offramp it needs to be a victorious one and so far that has not presented itself.

[00:04:49]>> Alex Mark, good to hear from you. Thanks very much for that. US and security uh and foreign policy journalist joining us there from Washington DC. Thanks very much.