US President Donald Trump on Sunday (IST) said he agreed to cancel planned weekend strikes against Iran on the insistence of the Iranian side and other countries in the Middle East, claiming that the parameters of a deal had been agreed upon. He said the proposed deal includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but stressed the pause in American strikes would endure only if a deal is finalised "rapidly."
In a post on Truth Social, he said that the emerging deal "would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran's nuclear threat."
He wrote, "... 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 [sic]."
"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 added.
Trump also coupled his call for a deal with his usual chest thumping, saying, "The U.S.A. 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."
He said Israel has agreed to join the US in the commitment to try to complete the agreement with Iran that would bring about an end to the five-month-old war.
Israel did not immediately make a public statement on the issue. Tehran warned the US this weekend against any "adventurous action" and said it would retaliate decisively if American forces followed through on Trump's threats of fresh strikes on Iranian targets.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi's comments in separate phone calls on Saturday with senior Turkish, Pakistani and Saudi officials came just hours after Kuwait's military said it destroyed hostile drones launched by Iran against several key installations.
Speaking to Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, he said Iran would respond decisively to any "aggression" and discussed the consequences of "destabilising actions" by the US, as well as prospects for heightened regional insecurity, according to Araqchi's Telegram account.
The top Iranian diplomat later told his Saudi counterpart, 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."
According to a US official cited by US news outlet Axios, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke to Trump on Saturday and "expressed concern and asked for clarity" about US plans for Iran.
Nournews, a media outlet affiliated with Iran's top security body, said on Saturday that American attacks on energy infrastructure in Iran would prompt Iranian strikes on oil fields in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as the gas fields of Qatar and Israel, saying, "all will be burned to ashes."
Source: ANI