President Trump on Saturday night said he agreed to halt a planned attack against Iran – after the Islamic Republic and other Middle Eastern countries agreed to the framework of a peace deal.
“The U.S.A. is 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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president said Iran and other governments in the regionasked the US “to hold off any attack” because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
According to Trump, the proposed agreement would include the “Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT” and “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”
“Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack,” Trump wrote, adding that the decision is contingent on the parties being able to “rapidly make a DEAL.”
He also wrote that “The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment.”
The announcement came a day after reports that US and Israeli planners were weighing strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure.
Tehran had warned that any attack on its energy sector would trigger retaliation against oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Israel.
Trump’s Saturday announcement followed a sharp deterioration in the five-month conflict after Iran earlier this week fired ballistic missiles toward US forces in Jordan.
US air defenses intercepted the missiles before American and Saudi forces retaliated with strikes on Iran-backed militia targets in Iraq, while US warplanes resumed attacks inside Iran.
The latest fighting came after a fragile June memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran collapsed last month following Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
Administration officials have maintained that any renewed negotiations would require Iran to first agree to a ceasefire and halt attacks on US forces, commercial shipping and America’s Gulf allies, while Trump has continued to insist that the Strait of Hormuz remain open and that Tehran abandon its nuclear ambitions.