Trump Holds Off New Attack on Iran if Deal Comes Rapidly

President Trump said over the weekend that the United States and Israel would hold off on new attacks on Iran, provided a deal to end the months-long war is reached quickly, according to Al Jazeera and AFP. In a Truth Social post he said he had agreed “to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman phoned Trump on Saturday and urged him to “prioritise dialogue,” according to the Saudi Press Agency as reported by Al Jazeera. Trump said the United States remained “locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” and that a deal would have to include the “Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT” and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat. He said Israel joined the commitment.

Iranian officials said mediators are working to revive a June agreement. Hassan Ghashghavi, spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, said in a video interview on Sunday that “there is an effort underway to revive the 14-point Islamabad agreement, particularly by the mediators,” and described the Strait of Hormuz as the key issue right now, AFP reported. The memorandum, reached with Qatar and Pakistan involved, briefly halted fighting in June and covered arrangements for Hormuz, a return to diplomacy between Tehran and Washington, and an end to hostilities in Lebanon. It later fell apart after Iran and the United States accused each other of violating its provisions.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his cabinet that talks with Oman were “on the way to being finalised.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the sides aimed for a route that is “neither the northern route nor the southern route” but still “respects the sovereign rights of both sides,” Al Jazeera reported. Oman had not immediately commented, and details of the route were unclear. Baghaei said the strait would not return to its pre-war status and blamed the United States for the closure, citing what he called its breaches of commitments and its naval blockade of Iran. Iran has effectively controlled the strait since the war began, according to Al Jazeera.

The strait normally carries about 20 percent of global oil consumption, Al Jazeera noted. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady last week, saying in its statement that inflation “remains elevated relative to the Committee’s 2% goal,” according to Reuters, amid higher fuel and food costs tied to the Middle East hostilities.

On Saturday, U.S. embassies across the Middle East told Americans in the region to “consider departing, or be prepared to depart should there be escalation,” and warned of an “unforeseen escalation,” AFP reported via Arab News. In Jordan they were told to stay away from U.S. military bases, which Iranian missiles have recently hit. Earlier in the week, Nextgov reported, American forces struck dozens of Iranian Revolutionary Guard targets on Wednesday, and Iran launched additional attacks toward Jordan and Kuwait on Thursday.