WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States and Israel had agreed to hold off on any new strikes on Iran — provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is quickly reached. Fears had mounted that the fighting could escalate once again, after Trump threatened to hit Iran “very hard,” and was reportedly considering renewed heavy attacks, including against energy infrastructure targets.
CBS News reported that the United States and Israel were planning joint strikes, possibly throughout the weekend, with oil refineries and power plants among possible targets.“The USA is 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,” Trump said late Saturday in a post on his Truth Social platform.
But the Republican billionaire said he would hold fire for now.
“Despite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack,” he said.
“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 US president said the deal would have to include the “Immediate, Complete and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”
“The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE.”
After more than five months of war, which began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, there is seemingly no end to the conflict, with a resumption of tit-for-tat attacks in recent weeks.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman called Trump on Saturday to express concerns about his strike plans, Axios reported, citing unnamed US officials.
One source with knowledge of the call told Axios that the Saudi crown prince had “urged Trump to de-escalate and refrain from launching the strikes.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the report.
Iran’s Mehr news agency on Sunday denied President Donald Trump’s claim that the Islamic republic asked the United States to refrain from conducting new strikes.
Citing military officials, the agency said the allegation “was nothing but a new lie” and that the Iranian armed forces were “on high alert and ready for any eventuality”.
Tehran views every threat from its adversaries as “real and credible” even if made as part of psychological warfare, Iran’s acting defence minister, Majid Ibn al-Reza, said on Sunday according to state media.
“We will neither be caught off guard nor remain passive,” he said, adding that Iran would use threats as a basis to increase its military readiness, strengthen deterrence and enhance its military capabilities.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed concern over President Donald Trump’s plans for massive new strikes against Iran during a phone call on Saturday, Axios reported, citing two US officials and a third source familiar with the conversation.
The Saudis sought greater clarity regarding Washington’s plans, a US official said.
A second source familiar with the call said the Saudi crown prince urged Trump to de-escalate tensions and refrain from launching the strikes.
The White House and the Saudi embassy in Washington declined to comment on the report.
Axios further reported that other regional powers, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkiye and Pakistan, are also pressing both the United States and Iran to de-escalate.
Qatari mediators held separate talks on Saturday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Omani officials in an effort to secure an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The discussions made progress, according to a source familiar with the talks, although it remains unclear whether that will be sufficient to defuse the crisis, the report said.
Iran’s acting defence minister has said recent statements by the United States are being made in the context of “psychological operations”, state media reported.
The minister said Tehran would not remain passive or be caught by surprise, adding that any threat was “real and significant”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Iran is more willing to negotiate on its nuclear programme and the Strait of Hormuz following Washington’s military attacks, Al Jazeera reported.
Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Rubio claimed the US strikes had destroyed Iran’s navy, air force, missile defences, launchers and weapons-production facilities, while severely weakening the country’s defensive capabilities.
“They still have missiles, and they still have drones, and they can still do damage,” Rubio said.
However, he claimed Iran no longer had the “conventional shield that they were going to hide behind”.
Rubio said the attacks had changed the negotiating dynamic between Washington and Tehran.
“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,” he said.
Meanwhile, Qatar has reaffirmed its support for efforts aimed at easing tensions in the Gulf region during separate phone calls between Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait.
During the conversations with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Sheikh Mohammed stressed Qatar’s commitment to initiatives aimed at de-escalating regional tensions.
The ministers also underscored the importance of all parties adhering to dialogue and diplomacy, while reaffirming their commitment to the memorandum of understanding signed on June 20, which seeks to safeguard freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and promote regional stability.
