Trump cancels Iran attack, citing progress in negotiations
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President Trump at Camp David on Friday. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
President Trump said Saturday night that he has called off a potential attack on Iran due to progress in negotiations between the two nations.
The big picture: There had been indications from some U.S. officials that an attack on Iran's infrastructure was possible, all in an effort to get the Iranians to agree to the U.S.' terms in ceasefire negotiations.
What they're saying: "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 president wrote on his Truth Social account.
- Trump added that Iran and "other Middle Eastern Countries" had asked the U.S. to hold off on attacking "in that the perimeters of a deal had been agreed to."
- "This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran's nuclear threat," he wrote.
Zoom out: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Trump spoke on Saturday, with MBS expressing concern over the strike plans, Axios' Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo reported hours before the president's social media post.
- Other regional powers, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Pakistan, have also pressed the U.S. and Iran to de-escalate.
Between the lines: An attack on Iran's infrastructure and energy sites would escalate the war that the president has repeatedly pressed pause on in order to negotiate with Iran, only for strikes to resume when diplomacy appeared stalled.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned off the U.S. and Israel — which was expected to join the U.S. in a large-scale strike — from any further action.
- "Any hostile action by the U.S. or Israel — or participation or cooperation by regional countries in such actions — would be met with a decisive and proportionate response from Iran's powerful armed forces," Araghchi said to Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Bin Abdullah Al Saud, per a post on Araghchi's Telegram channel.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information throughout.
