Trump says Iran strikes canceled if deal moves quickly

President Donald Trump said Saturday he has agreed to cancel planned U.S. strikes on Iran, provided a deal is reached quickly to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end what he called Iran’s nuclear threat.

The announcement, made in a Truth Social post, came after U.S. media reports that Washington and Israel were preparing a major bombing campaign against Iranian energy infrastructure, with strikes possible over the weekend. Trump said Israel joined him in the decision to hold off.

“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 wrote, using the spelling “perimeters.” He said the potential agreement “would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”

Trump added: “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. The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment.”

Iran had not responded to Trump’s announcement, the BBC reported. Earlier, Tehran accused Washington of escalating tensions and warned that any regional state cooperating with the United States would be “engulfed by the flames of war.” Al Jazeera reported that Iran’s top diplomat had warned of a “decisive response” to any U.S.-Israeli “aggression.”

Trump described U.S. forces as ready for an attack before the decision to hold off. He wrote that the United States was “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.”

Multiple sources told CBS News that the United States and Israel had planned what would be one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date against energy infrastructure targets in Iran. The plan came up during Trump’s cabinet meeting on Friday, according to CBS News. At Camp David that day, Trump said: “We’ll be hitting them very hard. At some point, they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore.’”

CBS News also reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with Trump earlier Saturday and cautioned him against a new round of strikes on Iran. One source told the network that bin Salman’s outreach was “all about concern over the targets.”

Several U.S. embassies in the Middle East, including in Amman, Jerusalem and Baghdad, issued security alerts Saturday because of “heightened tensions,” CBS News reported. The State Department advised Americans in the region to exercise caution and prepare for disruptions.

“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise caution and heightened vigilance and should be prepared for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions,” the alert said.

The announcement followed months of escalating strikes and counterstrikes after a ceasefire in April aimed at pausing the war fell apart in June, according to the BBC. The United States said earlier this week it had completed a “heavy wave” of strikes against Iran in retaliation for an attempted ballistic missile attack on American forces in the region.

The BBC reported that the United States has blockaded Iranian ports and bombed Iranian sites, while Iran has fired missiles and drones at U.S. assets across the Middle East and targeted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil shipping. CBS News reported that on Wednesday, the United States and Saudi Arabia said they struck Iran-backed militants in Iraq in a joint operation after more than 30 drone attacks over 72 hours targeted U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.