Image source, ReutersByJames Chater
Donald Trump says he has cancelled strikes against Iran provided a deal was struck “rapidly” with the country.
In a post on Truth Social, the US president wrote that he had decided to “cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL” – which would include the immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to “Iran’s nuclear threat”.
Trump said the decision had been taken alongside Israel. The announcement came amid US media reports that Washington might have been planning new, intense strikes on Iran over the weekend.
Tehran earlier accused the US of escalating tensions, saying any regional state co-operating with Washington would be “engulfed by the flames of war”.
In the post, Trump said the US was “locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II”.
But he said he had cancelled the strikes after being “asked” by Iran and other countries in the Middle East to “hold off” on any attack to allow for a deal to be reached.
He appeared to suggest progress towards an agreement had been made, saying that the “perimeters of a deal has been agreed to”.
“This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat,” he wrote.
Iran has not yet responded to Trump’s announcement.
The US government had earlier urged Americans across the Middle East to be alert and ready to leave “should there be escalation” in the region.
“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise caution and heightened vigilance and should be prepared for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions,” the security alert said on Saturday.
The US and Israel were planning what would be one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date against energy infrastructure targets in Iran, multiple sources earlier told CBS News, the BBC’s media partner in America.
The plan came up during Trump’s cabinet meeting on Friday, sources told CBS News.
During that meeting, Trump was heard saying while reporters were still in the room: “We’ll be hitting them [Iranians] very hard. At some point, they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore.'”
Axios reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke to Trump on Saturday and “expressed concern” about the potential strikes. Reuters also reported the phone call.
Washington and Tehran have engaged in escalating strikes and counter-strikes since a ceasefire in April aimed at pausing the war fell apart in June.
Earlier this week, the US said it completed a “heavy wave” of strikes against Iran in retaliation for an attempted ballistic missile attack on American forces in the region.
The US has blockaded Iranian ports and bombed Iranian sites, while Iran has fired missiles and drones at US assets in countries across the Middle East and targeted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil shipping.
The US and Israel began launching their strikes against Iran on 28 February, with the outbreak of war leading to significant fluctuations in oil prices.
