Trump says he canceled Iran strike after deal request

President Donald Trump said late Saturday that he canceled a planned large-scale military strike on Iran after Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries asked Washington to hold off because the “perimeters of a deal” had been agreed to.

The announcement, made on Trump’s Truth Social platform, came after news reports said the United States and Israel were preparing to target Iran’s energy infrastructure over the weekend. Trump said the U.S. was “locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” but had agreed to “cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.”

He said Israel was part of the commitment.

Trump said the proposed deal would include the “Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT” and an end to what he called “Iran’s nuclear threat.” Iran says its nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes.

Tehran did not immediately respond officially to Trump’s claim. Mehr, a semi-official Iranian news agency sponsored by the government, dismissed Trump’s remarks as “simply a new lie,” citing unnamed Iranian military officials.

Earlier Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Saudi counterpart that any U.S. or Israeli attack would receive a “proportionate response,” Al Jazeera reported. The comments followed Trump’s warning Friday that the United States would hit Iran “very hard.”

Axios reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump on Saturday and urged him to cancel the strikes and return to negotiations, citing a source familiar with the matter.

The State Department issued security alerts Saturday for Americans in 10 countries in the region, urging them to exercise increased caution and consider leaving because of escalating tensions, according to Al Jazeera.

NPR described Trump’s announcement as the latest abrupt reversal since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran in February. An Associated Press poll this week found that almost two-thirds of Americans say the war is not worth fighting.

Trump’s statement left several questions unresolved, including what terms had been agreed to, which countries were involved in the talks and whether Iran’s leadership had accepted any agreement. His post said the attack was canceled only on the condition that a deal could be made quickly.