CAIRO: President Donald Trump has said the US will hold off on a fresh attack on Iran as long as a deal can be reached quickly to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said late on Saturday on his Truth Social platform that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked for time to complete a deal that would lead to "the Immediate, Complete and Total" reopening of the vital strait and "an end to Iran's nuclear threat".
He did not name the countries in the post, which followed a call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, a US ally. "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 wrote. Israel "joins me in this commitment", he said.
Trump's apparent de-escalation after days of threats of new attacks from each side was the latest twist in the war the US and Israel launched five months ago. Attacks have spread across the Gulf to the Red Sea and even a Mediterranean facility in Egypt. Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for 20% of the world's oil and LNG before the war, causing energy prices to rise and stoking broader inflation.
Eli Cohen, Israel's energy minister and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, said there was close security and intelligence coordination between Israel and the U.S. on everything happening in the region. But he added: "With or without an agreement, and regardless of any external commitments, if Iran attempts to renew its nuclear programme or advance its ballistic missile industries, we will be there. We will take action, and we will strike." Trump and Netanyahu met on Tuesday in Washington, with an Israeli official saying they had explored all possible paths to curb Iran's nuclear programme, including diplomacy, economic pressure and force.
Tehran denies seeking a nuclear weapon. Iran’s acting defence minister, Brigadier General Majid Ebn Al-Reza, said Tehran viewed recent U.S. threats as "psychological and cognitive warfare” but was treating them seriously, adding that Iran would boost preparedness and deterrence rather than be caught off guard or remain passive, Press TV reported. In his call with Trump, the Saudi crown prince stressed the "necessity of prioritising dialogue to de-escalate tensions" in the Middle East, according to Saudi Arabia's state news agency. A White House official said that the two had spoken but did not provide details.
At a cabinet meeting on Friday, Trump said he believed US negotiators, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, could reach a deal with Iran. As an April ceasefire in the war unravelled last month, benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 24%, and analysts expect prices to rise further this year.
Trump has argued that his stated goal of keeping Iran from gaining nuclear weapons justifies higher fuel costs in the near term, but the economic pain has put political pressure on him to find a way to end the war. Adding to the energy industry's concerns, Iran's allies in Yemen in recent days began threatening the Bab el-Mandeb, the strait at the other end of the Red Sea from the Suez Canal, another export route for Saudi crude. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Saturday it had received reports of two maritime incidents off Oman. In one, an unknown projectile struck a tanker, damaging the engine room. In the other, the master of a tanker reported seeing a large splash and an explosion close to the vessel, though no damage was reported. — Reuters
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