Trump halts attacks on Iran but says deal must be made 'rapidly'

US President <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> said he called off military strikes on <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/iran" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/iran">Iran</a> after the country and other nations in the Middle East urged Washington to delay any offensive because the “perimeters of a deal” had been agreed. In a post on social media, Mr Trump said the US had been prepared to launch a major military operation against Iran but had decided to stand down while negotiations were under way. "We were 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," he wrote. "Despite this, 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." Mr Trump said he had agreed to suspend the planned attack in the hope that the negotiations would lead to a broader agreement. "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 said. "The country of <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/israel" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/israel">Israel</a> joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everybody, and get it done." Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps called Mr Trump's claim that Tehran had asked Washington to halt the attacks "another lie" and accused the US of using the allegation to pressure Gulf states through threats. The <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/irgc" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/irgc">IRGC</a>-affiliated Sepahnews Telegram channel quoted unnamed military officials as saying Iran's forces remained at the "highest level of readiness" regardless of whether the US escalates or withdraws. It warned that, if confrontation becomes unavoidable, the outcome would be decided "on the battlefield", where "everyone will understand who holds the power and who will have the final say". A senior Iranian defence official said on Sunday Tehran views any threat against the country as serious and will respond by increasing its military readiness and deterrence capabilities. "Although the enemy's recent statements are part of a psychological and cognitive warfare campaign, we consider every threat to be real and take it seriously," Brig Gen Majid Ibn Reza, Iran's Acting Defence Minister, said. "We will neither be taken by surprise nor remain passive," he said in a social media post. "Rather, we use such threats to raise our level of preparedness, strengthen our deterrence, and further enhance our capabilities." During a phone call, Saudi Crown Prince <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/mohammed-bin-salman" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/mohammed-bin-salman">Mohammed bin Salman</a> urged Mr Trump to prioritise dialogue and support efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Middle East, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday. The crown prince stressed the need to de-escalate tension through dialogue and to make every effort to achieve a ceasefire that could pave the way for diplomatic solutions. He warned against the risk of the region being drawn into a <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/podcasts/beyond-the-headlines/2026/07/31/what-the-us-saudi-strikes-on-iran-affiliated-militias-in-iraq-reveal-about-the-wider-war/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/podcasts/beyond-the-headlines/2026/07/31/what-the-us-saudi-strikes-on-iran-affiliated-militias-in-iraq-reveal-about-the-wider-war/">broader conflict</a>, saying such a scenario would have consequences for regional and global security and stability. Speaking to Fox News, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that the recent offensive had made Iran more willing to negotiate. The administration has been under pressure domestically to justify the surging costs of the war, and has reportedly also been pressed by Gulf allies whose economies have been hit hard by Iranian bombing and the closure of the strait. “They still have missiles and they still have drones, and they can still do damage,” Mr Rubio said, but he added that Iran no longer had a “conventional shield that they were going to hide behind”. “And that’s changed the whole dynamic. It’s the only reason why they are now willing and in some cases, seem eager, to do a deal on denuclearisation, to do a deal on the straits. Because we are now approaching them from a position of strength, not from a position of weakness."