New Delhi, Aug. 4 -- The largest US military strike on Iran since the conflict began in February was poised to launch Sunday night. It did not, Donald Trump said Monday, because Iran placed a call.

then a cascade of calls arrived. Saudi Arabia called. The UAE called. Qatar called. And Iran, Trump said, called too. "I don't want to use the word 'begging,'" he said, "but some, in particular, Iran did not want to be hit."

The statement changes what was understood about Sunday's events. CBS News had reported the strike was called off following pressure from Gulf intermediaries. Trump's account adds something those reports did not: Iran itself made direct contact with Washington, something Tehran has spent weeks publicly denying is possible....