ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US President Donald Trump said early Sunday that he has suspended planned military strikes against Iran to allow for renewed efforts to reach a deal, amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.
“We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in 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,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding, “I have agreed … to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.”
The announcement comes after weeks of renewed military escalation that began on July 8, despite the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed in mid-June. The agreement established a ceasefire, reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, and sought to end a six-week war that erupted in late February after US-Israeli airstrikes targeted several locations in Iran.
In recent weeks, both sides have intensified their rhetoric. Tehran warned it could target regional infrastructure and disrupt oil flows if Iranian facilities were attacked or if its oil exports were blocked. Trump, meanwhile, threatened to strike a bridge and a power plant for every vessel attacked by Iran's military in the Strait of Hormuz and warned he could target a nuclear facility that Iran is allegedly building in central Isfahan province.
Axios reported on Friday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with Trump and expressed concern over Washington’s reported plans to carry out major strikes against Iran.
According to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held several phone calls with regional counterparts on Saturday.
Tasnim reported that during a call with the Saudi foreign minister, Araghchi said that “any aggression or hostile action by the US and the Zionist regime, or the participation and cooperation of regional countries, will be met with a decisive and proportionate response.”
