Trump Cancels Imminent Iran Strikes, Claims Deal Parameters Agreed and Demands Rapid Finalization
US President Donald Trump announced late on Saturday that he had cancelled planned military strikes against Iran, declaring that the “perimeters of a deal” had been agreed and insisting any agreement must be completed rapidly. The decision marked another abrupt pivot in a five-month conflict that has repeatedly swung between threats of major escalation and sudden diplomatic pauses.
In a Truth Social post, Trump stated that the US military 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.” Despite this readiness, he said Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off because the parameters of a deal had been settled. “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, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL,” he wrote. The prospective agreement, according to Trump, would include the “Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.” He added that Israel joined the United States in this commitment and urged all parties to “Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE.”
The announcement came after reports that the United States and Israel had been preparing joint strikes targeting Iranian energy infrastructure, possibly as early as the weekend. The plan had been discussed during a cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday. US officials had issued alerts advising American citizens across the Middle East to prepare for possible escalation, including flight disruptions and the need to leave the region on short notice. Trump had earlier signalled growing frustration, telling reporters he was “losing faith” in negotiations and warning that Iran would be hit “very hard.”
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman played a key role in the de-escalation. Reports confirmed that the crown prince spoke with Trump on Saturday and expressed serious concerns about the risk of wider conflict, particularly the threat of Iranian retaliation against Gulf energy facilities. Other regional powers, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Pakistan, had also pressed both Washington and Tehran to prioritise diplomacy. A diplomat briefed on the contacts described a coordinated effort by Gulf officials to convince the US administration to stick with talks rather than launch new attacks.
Iran rejected Trump’s claim that Tehran had requested a pause. The semi-official Mehr news agency, citing military officials, described the assertion as “nothing but a new lie” and said Iranian armed forces remained “on high alert and ready for any eventuality.” Acting Defence Minister Majid Ibn al-Reza stated that Tehran treats every threat as real and credible, even when framed as psychological operations, and would use such threats to strengthen military readiness and deterrence. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier warned regional leaders that any US or Israeli aggression, or participation by Gulf states in such actions, would meet a decisive and proportionate response. Iranian media outlets affiliated with security bodies went further, warning that attacks on Iranian energy sites could trigger strikes on oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Israel.
The central sticking point remains the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally flow. Iran has tightly controlled or effectively closed large sections of the strait during the war, disrupting global energy markets and contributing to elevated oil prices. Trump has repeatedly insisted on its full and immediate reopening as a non-negotiable element of any deal. Iranian officials, meanwhile, have pursued parallel talks with Oman, which sits on the opposite side of the waterway. On Sunday, Foreign Minister Araghchi said negotiations with Oman over a mutually acceptable shipping route were in their final stages. Iranian spokesmen emphasised that these discussions concerned a new corridor respecting the sovereign rights of both sides and were separate from any broader question of fully reopening the strait under previous rules of free passage.
The nuclear issue forms the other major pillar of Trump’s stated terms. The president has framed the conflict in part around ending what he calls Iran’s nuclear threat, though previous interim agreements deferred detailed nuclear negotiations to later stages. Earlier ceasefire efforts, including a June memorandum of understanding mediated with regional involvement, collapsed within weeks amid mutual accusations of violations, continued strikes, and disputes over shipping routes and sanctions. That earlier deal had briefly reopened aspects of maritime traffic and set a 60-day window for further talks, only for fighting to resume after attacks on commercial vessels and subsequent US retaliation.
On Sunday, Trump provided further comments, stating that peace talks would resume on Monday and expressing confidence that a deal on the Strait of Hormuz would materialise, to be followed by progress on denuclearisation. He credited appeals from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, noting that when allies request a pause, “you’ve got to sort of say, well let’s see.” Oil markets reacted positively to the de-escalation signals, with Brent crude falling more than 6 percent to around $82 a barrel on hopes that shipping disruptions might ease.
The pattern of threat followed by last-minute cancellation has become a defining feature of the conflict since it began in late February 2026. Trump has several times announced that major strikes were imminent only to reverse course hours or days later, citing progress in talks. Each pause has bought temporary breathing space, yet none has produced a durable settlement. Analysts note that depleted US interceptor stocks, the risk of broader regional conflagration, and pressure from Gulf partners wary of Iranian retaliation all constrain Washington’s options. From Tehran’s perspective, the repeated American climb-downs may be interpreted as signs of reluctance to sustain high-intensity operations.
Whether this latest pause leads to a lasting agreement remains uncertain. The parameters Trump described are ambitious: full reopening of the strait without Iranian tolls or control mechanisms that Washington rejects, plus meaningful constraints on Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran continues to insist on its sovereign rights in the waterway and has shown little public movement on nuclear issues. Mediators from Pakistan and Qatar are reported to be working actively, with some sources expressing cautious optimism, yet previous mediation efforts have repeatedly foundered on the same core disagreements.
As talks are set to resume, the region remains on edge. Shipping traffic is still constrained, energy prices volatile, and military forces on both sides at elevated readiness. Trump has left the door open to renewed strikes if a deal does not materialise quickly, while Iranian officials continue to prepare for the possibility of confrontation. The coming days will test whether the latest diplomatic window can succeed where earlier ones failed, or whether the cycle of escalation and temporary pause will simply continue.
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