Trump says he will hold off on fresh Iran attack in hope of a quick deal on nuclear threat, Hormuz
Middle Eastern nations have asked for time to complete an agreement leading to the strait’s reopening, he adds
Add BT as a preferred source
[CAIRO] US President Donald Trump said late on Saturday (Aug 1) that the US would hold off on a fresh attack on Iran, as long as a deal could be reached quickly to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran and other Middle Eastern countries asked for time to complete a deal that would lead to “the immediate, complete and total” reopening of the vital strait and “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat”, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He did not name the countries in the post, which followed a call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, a US ally.
“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,” Trump wrote.
Israel “joins me in this commitment”, he said.
Eli Cohen, Israel’s energy minister and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet, said there was close security and intelligence coordination between Israel and the US on everything happening in the region.
But he added: “With or without an agreement, and regardless of any external commitments, if Iran attempts to renew its nuclear programme or advance its ballistic missile industries, we will be there. We will take action, and we will strike.”
Trump and Netanyahu met on Tuesday in Washington, with an Israeli official saying they had explored all possible paths to curb Iran’s nuclear programme, including diplomacy, economic pressure and force.
Teheran denies seeking a nuclear weapon.
SEE ALSO
Press TV reported that Iran’s acting defence minister, Brigadier General Majid Ebn Al-Reza, said Teheran viewed recent US threats as “psychological and cognitive warfare” but was treating them seriously, adding that Iran would boost preparedness and deterrence rather than be caught off guard or remain passive.
Saudi prince seeks dialogue
In his call with Trump, the Saudi crown prince, widely known as MBS, stressed the “necessity of prioritising dialogue to de-escalate tensions” in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia’s state news agency reported.
A White House official told Reuters that the two had spoken but did not provide details.
Trump’s apparent de-escalation after days of threats of new attacks from each side marked the latest turn in the war that the US and Israel launched five months ago. Attacks have spread across the Gulf to the Red Sea and even a Mediterranean facility in Egypt.
Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for 20 per cent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas before the war, causing energy prices to stir and stoking broader inflation.
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Sunday that Iranian military officials, whom it did not identify, had dismissed Trump’s claim that Teheran had sought to halt attacks as “a new lie” aimed at pressuring Gulf Arab states.
They said Iran’s forces remained on the highest level of readiness whether the US escalated or withdrew, warning that if confrontation became unavoidable, the battlefield would determine the outcome.
Teheran had earlier warned the US against any “adventurous action” and said it would retaliate decisively to any fresh attacks on Iranian targets.
Pressure on Trump grows as oil surges
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told senior Turkish and Pakistani officials in phone calls on Saturday that Teheran would respond decisively to any “aggression” and discussed the consequences of “destabilising actions” by the US, as well as prospects for heightened regional insecurity, he posted on the Telegram messaging platform.
Hours earlier, Kuwait’s army said it had destroyed hostile drones launched by Iran against several vital facilities.
Araghchi said he told Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan that any attacks by the US and Israel or participation by regional countries in such actions would be met with a “proportionate response”.
At a cabinet meeting on Friday, Trump said he believed US negotiators, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, could reach a deal with Iran.
As an April ceasefire in the war unravelled last month, benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 24 per cent, and analysts polled by Reuters expect prices to rise further this year.
Trump has argued that his stated goal of keeping Iran from gaining nuclear weapons justifies higher fuel costs in the near term, but the economic pain has put political pressure on him to find a way to end the war.
Adding to the energy industry’s concerns, Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen in recent days began threatening the Bab el-Mandeb, the strait at the other end of the Red Sea from the Suez Canal, another export route for Saudi crude.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations said on Saturday that it had received reports of two maritime incidents off Oman.
In one, an unknown projectile struck a tanker, damaging the engine room. In the other, the master of a tanker reported seeing a large splash and an explosion close to the vessel, though no damage was reported. REUTERS
Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
