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. Muslim pilgrims at the Grand Mosque complex in Saudi Arabia’s city of Mecca (AFP/Getty) Around one million …
