The US president said he must remain at the White House due to “circumstances pertaining to Government”
US President Donald Trump has abruptly canceled plans to attend his son Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding this weekend, saying he must remain in Washington as his administration reportedly prepares for possible new strikes on Iran.
The Trump administration was preparing for a fresh round of military strikes against Iran, but no final decision had been made, CBS News reported on Friday, citing sources with direct knowledge of the planning.
Axios reported that Trump convened his senior national security team on Friday morning to discuss Iran, including the state of negotiations and possible scenarios if talks collapse. Vice President J.D. Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and other officials reportedly attended the meeting.
“I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that he wanted to be with his son Don Jr. and his soon-to-be wife, but that unspecified “circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so.”
Trump had hinted at the reason on Thursday, telling reporters that the wedding was “not good timing” because of “a thing called Iran and other things.”
The White House has changed Trump’s weekend schedule as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to what CBS described as the “final” US proposal to end the nearly three-month war. The offer was reportedly transmitted to Iran on Wednesday with a warning that rejecting it would mean the resumption of strikes.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said before flying to India that the US expected to receive Iran’s response through Pakistan, which has acted as an intermediary. Axios reported that Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir traveled to Tehran on Friday, while a Qatari delegation also arrived to support the mediation effort.
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with the negotiations in recent days and, according to Axios, has raised the possibility of a final “decisive” major military operation, after which he could declare victory and end the war.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned this week that any renewed US or Israeli attacks could widen the conflict beyond the Middle East, promising “crushing blows” in places Washington and West Jerusalem “cannot even imagine.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that talks were ongoing but that a deal was not close. A source close to Tehran’s negotiating team told Tasnim that the current focus remained on ending the war and that no other issue would be negotiated until that was achieved.
