Washington DC [US], August 4 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) said that Iran has been given a 'last chance' to reach an agreement, claiming that Washington paused a planned military strike after receiving requests from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Iran to pursue diplomacy instead.

Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office after signing an Executive Order establishing the first-ever Presidential Military Spouse Commission, Trump asserted that the United States was prepared to launch a major military operation against Iran before diplomatic outreach prompted a pause.

'This is a last chance. This is not something that if it doesn't happen, this is a last chance for them to sign a good document,' Trump said while discussing ongoing talks with Tehran.

Claiming that negotiations were underway at Iran's request, Trump said, 'We are talking right now, we're talking and we're talking at the request of Iran, backed by Saudi Arabia, backed by UAE, and backed by Qatar in particular, but others also. Many countries called... they all wanted to give this a last chance.'

The US President alleged that Iran had previously denied engaging in discussions despite holding extensive meetings with American officials.

'It's an amazing thing... we have many talks... they'll sometimes deny it, even though they've spent hours and hours together talking. But the talks are going along,' he said.

Trump further claimed that the United States had been ready to carry out a large-scale strike against Iran before the diplomatic intervention.

'We were going to hit them very hard yesterday, very, very hard, harder than any attack... since World War II. We were set to go and they called and, in addition, Saudi Arabia called, UAE called, Qatar called. I got calls from numerous people,' Trump said.

'Now, I don't want to use the word begging, but some were in particular. Iran did not want to be hit. And they said we want to talk... more importantly, from my standpoint, we want to talk about the de-nuclearization of Iran because that's what it's all about,' he added.

Reiterating that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons remained Washington's primary objective, Trump said previous administrations and other countries had failed to resolve the issue over decades.

'It should have been done... for 50 years... nobody did it. And it was time,' he said.

Trump also referred to previous US military operations against Iran, claiming they had significantly degraded Tehran's nuclear capabilities.

'We hit them hard with the B2s more than a year ago now and that knocked out their capability... and we've done a great job,' he said.

Earlier on Monday, Trump intensified his criticism of Iran in a post on Truth Social, accusing the Iranian leadership of being 'unbelievably duplicitous' by seeking talks with Washington while publicly denying negotiations were taking place.

He also reiterated that 'Iran will never have a nuclear weapon' and claimed the United States maintained complete control over access through the Strait of Hormuz until an agreement or 'total surrender' was achieved.

Trump's remarks came after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei rejected reports of direct or indirect negotiations with the United States, maintaining that Tehran was not engaged in bilateral talks with Washington.

Baghaei also clarified that an understanding between Iran and Oman regarding a new maritime traffic route through the Strait of Hormuz was only a technical arrangement for vessel safety and did not indicate the reopening of the strategic waterway.

Separately, while signing an Executive Order establishing the first-ever Presidential Military Spouse Commission, Trump said the initiative was aimed at strengthening support for military families.

'Thank you for all being here as we take a major new step to support our incredible military families... Today, I'm signing an Executive Order to establish the first-ever Presidential Military Spouse Commission,' he said. (ANI)