What to Know
When President Donald Trump took to social media to announce that he would not be attacking Iran after all (and that he had previously planned on it), the Iranian embassy in Kenya mocked him for it. The way Trump wrote about his decision not to proceed with his planned attack on Iran sounded shockingly flippant to critics, almost like he was canceling a dinner reservation, not deciding to refrain from attacking another country.
On Truth Social, he explained that leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the President of the United Arab Emirates asked him to “hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow.”
He said the change in plans was due to his “respect for the above mentioned Leaders.”
REPORTER: "Can you speak a little bit about your, post on Truth Social on Iran? And what was the decision … why you didn't attack… ?"
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 18, 2026
PRESIDENT TRUMP: "Well, other countries have come to me and they've said… We were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow. I've… pic.twitter.com/PagwcXDAAo
According to his Truth Social post, they told him “that serious negotiations are now taking place” and “a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond.”
In his post, which was shared on May 18, he also announced that “we 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’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”
However, before he posted this, people did not actually know he was preparing to strike Iran. Even some officials from the countries Trump mentioned in the post didn’t know about these plans, The Wall Street Journal reported (per CNBC).
Trump later told reporters that people didn’t know about his planned attack because he “didn’t tell them.”
“I never tell anybody when, but they knew that we were very close,” Trump told reporters, per CNBC. “I would say we were, I was an hour away from making the decision to go today.”
He continued, “I had made the decision. So they called up, they had heard I made the decision, and said, ‘Sir, could you give us a couple of more days? Because we think they’re being reasonable.'”
Trump also said, “We were all set to go … It would have been happening right now.”
Meanwhile, the Iranian embassy in Kenya suggested that there was another reason for this “cancellation.”
Trump was gonna strike Iran tomorrow… but news say Melania has a nail appointment and he's gotta drop her off at the salon first.
— IRAN EMBASSY in KENYA (@IRANinKENYA) May 19, 2026
Priorities, folks. The free world hangs by a manicure.
The embassy suggested that Trump simply had better things to do that day, so he couldn’t be bothered to move forward with his plans. The person who wrote the sarcastic post also brought First Lady Melania Trump into it.
An X post from the embassy read, “Trump was gonna strike Iran tomorrow… but news say Melania has a nail appointment and he’s gotta drop her off at the salon first. Priorities, folks. The free world hangs by a manicure.”
Trump has repeatedly taken to Truth Social to threaten Iran. His bombastic threats have sparked significant criticism and concern (In April, he wrote, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”)
He has also sparked backlash due to the casual way in which he’s spoken about people dying. In March, he said, “Like I said, some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die.”
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