WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM/BAGHDAD/AMMAN – US President Donald Trump said Monday that he decided to pause US strikes on Iran in order to give negotiations another chance, while warning that he could order a restart of strikes if talks with Iran fail.

"We are in very deep talks with Iran. If they don't work out, we will go back to very strong military action," Trump said in an interview with US online news outlet Axios.

Asked how long he was willing to give diplomacy, he said, "Not much time. Either it goes fast or not at all."

Trump said he decided to pause strikes on Friday because the countries that are mediating as well as other countries in the region had asked him to give talks with Iran another chance.

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Later, the president told reporters that Iran sought talks only after its military was battered by the US military.

"I think there's a good chance that something could happen," Trump said aboard Air Force One en route to an event in Michigan. "And if it does, good, if it doesn't, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago."

Trump said that his administration and the Israeli government are "pretty close" to being on the same page regarding Iran.

"We have a little difference, but pretty close," he said of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is expected to visit the White House on Tuesday.

Trump also reiterated that Iranian assets controlled by the United States will be used to cover damage to ships attacked when transiting the Strait of Hormuz. "We're going to use Iran's money to pay for the damage they did," he said.

Negotiations between Oman and Iran have made progress, though no deal has been reached, according to reports citing regional sources.

Netanyahu departs for Washington amid Middle East tensions

Also on Monday, Netanyahu flew to Washington for a meeting with Trump scheduled for Tuesday, according to a statement issued by the Israeli prime minister's office.

Israel's state-run Kan TV News and other local media outlets reported that the takeoff was made unusually from the Nevatim military airbase in the Negev desert in southern Israel, rather than from Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.

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Netanyahu said before his departure that he would discuss with Trump mainly the Iranian issue, Israel's security, and efforts to expand the circle of peace around Israel.

Israel's Channel 12 News reported that Netanyahu is expected to present Trump with up-to-date intelligence on Iran's progress toward a nuclear bomb, express opposition to the US demand for an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and Syria, and ask the US president not to sell weapons systems and F-35 jets to Türkiye.

Iraq orders probe into alleged drone attacks on Saudi Arabia

In Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces Ali al-Zaidi on Monday directed security authorities to investigate the alleged drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory on Saudi Arabia, the Iraqi military said.

The government is examining all available evidence and will pursue legal action against anyone found involved, according to a statement by Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces.

"The Iraqi government reaffirms its constitutional and unwavering commitment to the principles of good neighborliness and to preventing Iraqi territory from being used as a route or launching point for any attack targeting brotherly or friendly countries," the statement read.

The Iraqi announcement followed Saudi Arabia's report earlier in the day that its air defenses downed several drones launched from Iraqi territory toward the kingdom's oil sites.

The drone attacks came amid recent exchanges of airstrikes between the United States and Iran, as well as the emergence of a new Red Sea front involving Yemen's Houthis and Saudi Arabia.

Jordanian foreign minister, UN chief stress need to uphold ceasefire

In Amman, Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met on Monday over the latest regional developments, Jordan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The two sides stressed the need to uphold the US-Iran ceasefire, resume negotiations to address the root causes of tensions, and ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the statement.

Poll: Only 1 in 3 Americans supports war against Iran

Also on Monday, a new poll showed that just one in three Americans supports the war against Iran, the lowest reading since the five-month-old conflict's early days.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted Friday through Sunday, found that 69 percent of Americans — including four in 10 Republicans -- think US President Donald Trump has not "clearly explained the goals of US military involvement in Iran."

Approval of the conflict has been below 40 percent since the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Feb 28.

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A growing number of polls have shown rising public backlash against the war. A recent poll released by The Washington Post-Ipsos found that 68 percent of Americans believe the war is "not worth fighting."

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked for more funding for the war at a Senate hearing last week, where he said the war has cost $37.5 billion so far, up from the $29 billion estimated in May.