Trump Cancels Iran Attack After Deal Request, Tehran Cautious

U.S. President Donald Trump said early Sunday he has canceled a planned attack on Iran following a request by Tehran and its regional neighbors.

"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," Trump said in a Truth Social post.

The president said that the agreement would include the "Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran's nuclear threat."

"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 added. "The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment."

He added that the U.S. remains ready to strike Iran forcefully and "is locked and loaded and ready to go."

U.S. media reports on Friday had said that Trump was preparing for a fresh round of strikes against Iran as hopes of a negotiated end to the war that began on Feb. 28 receded and energy prices climbed.

Iran appeared to react with caution to Trump's latest statement.

"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," Iran's acting Defense Minister, Seyyed Majid Ibn Al-Reza, said in a state media post on X.

Iran's Fars International state news agency said via its Telegram channel Sunday that Trump's demands amounted to a "wish list."

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "stressed the need to prioritize dialogue to reduce escalation and the importance of making every possible effort to achieve calm" in a phone call with Trump, the Saudi Press Agency said Sunday.

On Saturday, a number of U.S. Embassies in the Middle East warned American citizens in the region to exercise caution and be prepared for flight cancellations amid growing tensions between Iran and the United States.

Embassies in Iraq, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates each warned U.S. citizens to consider leaving the region immediately, or be prepared to depart should there be an escalation in fighting.

The warnings came after a tanker near Oman reported being struck late Friday, with another saying it saw an explosion nearby. Iran has warned Washington that the U.S. military's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would result in the closure of key shipping routes.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told his Saudi counterpart in a phone call on Saturday that any "aggression" by the U.S. and Israel or participation of regional countries will be met with a "decisive and proportionate response," according to Araqchi's Telegram account.

A temporary ceasefire following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran on June 17 has effectively broken down. Neither side has given way on key sticking points, including Iran's nuclear program and control of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil supplies moved before the war broke out.

The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed U.S. officials as saying Friday that Trump had ordered the military to launch a fresh attack on Iran that could begin as soon as this weekend. But Trump could call off the planned strikes, officials told the Journal, if there was progress on the diplomatic front.

"We will be hitting them very hard," The Associated Press quoted Trump as saying Friday at a televised cabinet meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat. "And you know at some point, they're going to say, 'We just can't take it anymore.'"

Over the last week, the U.S. completed a "heavy wave" of strikes against Iran, hitting dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets. In retaliation, Iran attacked U.S. military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.

Egypt said Thursday that a drone hit two ships at its Mediterranean port of Damietta, triggering a fire. No one claimed responsibility for the strike, which marks the first attack on Egyptian soil since the war began and another sign that the conflict is expanding.

Araqchi warned on Saturday against any "adventurous action" by the U.S. in separate phone calls with his Turkish counterpart and Pakistan's army commander, according to the Iranian minister's account on Telegram.

Araqchi stressed his country's readiness to respond decisively to any "aggression."

An Iranian official also warned that the U.S.'s actions would lead Iran to tighten its control over critical maritime passages.

"The continuation of the naval blockade and warmongering by the U.S. regime will not only lock the Strait of Hormuz tighter, but will also shut down other straits and chokepoints," Iran's WANA news agency quoted Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, as saying.

The U.S. reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ships on July 13, preventing its vessels from entering or leaving its ports.

Recent strikes by Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen and Friday's drone strike in Egypt have raised fears that the crucial Bab el-Mandeb strait at the southern end of the Red Sea could become a second choke point for Iran to target as the two sides tussle over the Strait of Hormuz.

On Friday, West Texas Intermediate futures rose more than 1% to close at $84.67 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, also gained more than 1% to settle at $90.12. Prices fell more than 5% for the week after selling off Monday on hopes the conflict in the Middle East would de-escalate.