President Donald Trump announced late Saturday on Truth Social that the United States has agreed to cancel planned military strikes against Iran, citing progress toward a diplomatic agreement.
Trump stated that Iran and other Middle Eastern nations had asked Washington “to hold off any attack” because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
Prior news reports had indicated that the U.S. and Israel were actively preparing to strike Iran’s energy infrastructure over the weekend, raising fears of a significant regional escalation.
In his Truth Social post, Trump declared the U.S. “is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran” but confirmed Washington would “cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.”
Trump said Israel was included in that commitment, signaling coordinated alignment between Washington and Tel Aviv on the diplomatic pause.
The proposed deal, as described by Trump, “would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”
Control of the Strait of Hormuz is a critical geopolitical issue, as the waterway serves as a vital passage for a significant share of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas exports.
While Trump did not identify which countries urged the delay, Saudi Arabia’s state news agency carried a statement confirming that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had spoken directly with the U.S. president.
The crown prince “emphasized the necessity of prioritizing dialogue to de-escalate tensions and the importance of exerting all possible efforts to achieve a truce for preserving the security and stability of the region and prevent it from being drawn into a wider conflict whose repercussions would affect regional and international security and stability.”
Iran, which maintains its nuclear program is intended solely for peaceful purposes, had not issued an official government response to Trump’s announcement at the time of reporting.
Mehr, a semi-official Iranian state-sponsored news agency, dismissed Trump’s claims as “simply a new lie,” citing unnamed Iranian military officials who rejected the characterization.
The development represents the latest in a series of abrupt policy shifts since the United States and Israel first launched strikes against Iran back in February.
Public support for the conflict appears to be weakening domestically, with an AP poll conducted this week finding that almost two-thirds of Americans who responded say the war is not worth the fight.
The diplomatic maneuvering leaves the situation delicately balanced, with Trump making clear that military options remain on the table if a formal agreement fails to materialize quickly.
