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Pause for a Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States agreed to pause attacks on Iran, writing on Truth Social that he had been asked by Iran and other Middle Eastern countries to hold off as “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
““the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to””
Trump said the proposed deal would include “the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat,” while also saying the U.S. was “locked and loaded and ready to go” but would cancel attacks “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.”
NBC News reported that the statement came after the State Department urged Americans across the Middle East to consider leaving the region or be prepared to depart on short notice, warning of flight disruptions and security risks as the conflict with Iran appeared to be escalating.
The pause was framed as conditional diplomacy rather than a full end to hostilities, with Al Jazeera reporting that Trump said the US and Israel agreed to halt new attacks on Iran provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is reached “rapidly.”
Competing Claims
Iran denied Trump’s claim that Tehran asked the U.S. to refrain from conducting new strikes, with Al Jazeera reporting that the allegation “was nothing but a new lie” and that Iranian armed forces were “on high alert and ready for any eventuality.”
Al Jazeera also quoted Iran’s acting defence minister, Majid Ibn al-Reza, saying U.S. remarks should be viewed as “psychological and cognitive warfare,” and that the threat of further strikes would be taken “as the basis for increasing readiness, strengthening deterrence, and enhancing our own power.”
NBC News reported that Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told “Meet the Press” Sunday that the president should not trust Iran’s word, saying, “Well, it may not be.”
NBC News added that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with Trump by phone Saturday, and that the Saudi state news agency said he told Trump that dialogue was needed to de-escalate Middle East tensions and expressed concerns over plans for new strikes against Iran.
What’s at Risk Next
The standoff left the Strait of Hormuz at the center of the dispute, with Al Jazeera saying the Strait of Hormuz “remains shut” and that shipping is disrupted in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
“the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway critical to global energy supplies, remains shut”
Al Jazeera reported that mediation efforts were continuing amid the standoff, and that Hassan Ghashghavi, a spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, said mediators were trying to revive an agreement brokered by Pakistan in June.
NBC News said the conflict has entered its sixth month and that the protracted war has led to soaring oil prices globally and rising gas prices in the U.S., while also noting a brief reprieve in June when the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding outlining the process for talks to end the war.
NBC News also reported that on Saturday the Kuwait army said its air defense systems intercepted drone attacks from Iran, and that the General Staff of the Army said explosions heard were a result of air defense systems intercepting the hostile attacks.
