Trump cancelled Iran strikes after Saudi Arabia issued Hajj pilgrimage warning: report

President Donald Trump cancelled new attacks on Iran after Saudi Arabia warned strikes during the Hajj pilgrimage would cause serious “reputational damage”, according to a report.

The US leader threatened to restart a bombing campaign on the Islamic Republic after efforts to reach a deal appeared to be deadlocked but later backtracked and said that he was in no rush to end the conflict.

Earlier this week he said he was “an hour away” from attacking the country and that Gulf leaders had intervened.

Trump was told that America’s standing within the Muslim world would suffer serious damage if attacks were carried out during the holy period, two senior Gulf officials told the Middle East Eye.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims would also be stranded in the region if war were to break out again and cause chaos if retaliatory strikes hit Saudi Arabia and surrounding countries in the run-up to Eid-ul-Adha, the Muslim celebration following the pilgrimage.

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Around one million visitors travel to Saudi Arabia to complete the pilgrimage, which takes place every year.

A senior US official familiar with the discussions confirmed the discussions had taken place.

They said that Trump was warned by his own team that attacks during the period would cause “reputational damage”.

All three officials said that they expected the war to resume in the coming weeks after the end of the Islamic festival.

The US did attack Iran during Ramadan this year, but it is thought that the particular logistical issues caused by the pilgrimage would cause serious issues across the country and surrounding region.

Within Iran, the conflict sparked by US-Israeli strikes that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 28 February is referred to as the “Ramadan War” on account of its timing.

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The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.

It follows reports that Iran has been rebuilding its military capacity much faster than expected during a six-week ceasefire with the US and Israel, according to new US intelligence reports.

Tehran restarted its production of drones, replaced missile sites and reignited its production capacity, four US officials told CNN.

“The Iranians have exceeded all timelines the IC [the intelligence community] had for reconstitution,” one official told the network.

Top Iranian diplomat and parliamentary speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that the country had used the opportunity to “rebuild” its strength and military capability.

Iran threatened to escalate the conflict “beyond the region” if the US restarted attacks on the country.

A White House briefing by JD Vance mentioned that "a lot of good progress has been made" in recent negotiations with Tehran, though acknowledging that the outcome remains uncertain.

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