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Trump pauses Iran strikes
U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States would hold off on new strikes against Iran after Iran and other Middle Eastern countries asked him to do so, and he linked the pause to what he called “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
“Trump said he is canceling a planned attack on Iran, contingent on the two sides “rapidly” making a deal”
In the same Truth Social post, Trump said the emerging deal “would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat,” and he added that the U.S. would cancel the attack “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.”
Trump also said “The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment,” framing Israel as part of the effort to end the five-month-old war.
The BBC reported that Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency denied that Tehran asked the U.S. to hold off, calling Trump’s claim “nothing but a new lie,” while Iran’s acting Defence Minister Majid Ibn al-Reza said Tehran viewed threats as “real and credible” even if they were part of psychological warfare.
Oman talks, Hormuz dispute
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz “will in no way return to the status it was before Feb. 28,” while he said Iran was discussing shipping through the strait with Oman and that there was “no current talk about reopening the crucial waterway.”
Al-Monitor reported that Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said negotiations between Tehran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz were in their final stages, and it quoted Esmaeil Baghaei saying the talks “had no link to the Strait of Hormuz being opened or closed.”
Trump’s stated condition for a pause remained tied to reopening the strait, with the Globe and Mail repeating his claim that the deal would include “the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT.”
The Globe and Mail also described a regional official’s account that the proposal would bring sides back to negotiations, include halting attacks across the region, and involve the U.S. ending its naval blockade on Iran and allowing Tehran to export its oil, while adding that “No deal has been reached yet.”
Energy, deterrence, and travel
The conflict’s immediate stakes were tied to shipping and energy flows, with CNN saying the collapse of the initial U.S.-Iran ceasefire was followed by greater disruptions to global shipping and oil production and that Americans were facing high gas prices as a result.
“The collapse of the initial US-Iran ceasefire last month has been followed by greater disruptions to global shipping”
CNN also reported that OPEC+ agreed to increase oil production in September, and it said the group’s statement did not mention the war while noting that the Strait of Hormuz is “impassable to maritime traffic.”
In Iran, the acting defence minister Majid Ibn al-Reza said Tehran would “neither be caught off guard nor remain passive,” and he said Iran would use threats as a basis to increase readiness, strengthen deterrence, and enhance capabilities.
On the U.S. side, the BBC reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman had a call with Trump aimed at reducing tensions, and it quoted the Saudi official line that he “emphasised the necessity of prioritising dialogue to reduce tensions” and “the importance of exerting all possible efforts to achieve a truce.”
