President Donald Trump said Saturday that Middle East allies have reached the outlines of a deal to end the Iran war and that he would hold off on ordering new strikes in the five-month-old conflict for now. The president posted on social media that the emerging agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat. He said Israel has agreed to join the United States in the commitment to try to complete the agreement with Iran.
The announcement came after a phone call between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The crown prince raised concerns about a potential U.S. escalation with Iran, according to a person familiar with the discussion. The person said the Saudis are worried that if the U.S. targets Iran’s energy infrastructure or carries out massive strikes on bridges or power plants, Tehran could respond by attacking the kingdom’s energy infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia has been urging the U.S. and Iran to return to the negotiating table. The crown prince also dispatched his brother, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, to Washington on Wednesday for meetings with Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Meanwhile, Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday at the White House. The Israeli leader has urged Trump to continue to prosecute the war against Iran.
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Saudi Arabia earlier this week joined the U.S. in striking multiple logistics and weapons sites used by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.
Recent Escalations and Stalled Truce
Trump had suggested to reporters on Friday that he was close to resuming heavy military strikes to force the regime to the negotiating table. The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, starting a war Trump said was aimed at destroying Tehran’s missile capabilities and preventing it from obtaining a nuclear weapon. But the stated goals and timelines for the conflict have repeatedly shifted.
An interim agreement reached in mid-June halted the fighting but crumbled within weeks as Iran resumed attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The president had vowed to take retaliatory action after the U.S. military thwarted a surprise attack earlier this week by Iran on a U.S. base in Jordan. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that Tehran last month signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. on a truce but then quickly “broke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers.”
The conflict has jolted the world economy just months before critical midterm elections. Trump on Friday displayed his growing frustration with the war, telling reporters that “we just want to win” in Iran and that the U.S. will hit Iran “very hard” until they can’t take it anymore.
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Iran did not offer any immediate public reaction to Trump’s announcement. Earlier in the day, the U.S. State Department issued new security alerts for Americans in 10 countries in the region.
Attacks Continue in the Region
While diplomatic talks are underway, attacks in the region continue. Kuwait’s military said Saturday that its forces responded to drone attacks by Iran. Maj. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, spokesperson for the Kuwaiti Defense Ministry, said the drones hit “a number of vital facilities,” including a government structure in the country’s north. He said there were no casualties.
The British Navy said Saturday that a tanker was struck and a separate explosion hit close to a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman. No casualties were reported. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization said an unknown projectile hit the vessel on Friday 11 nautical miles northeast of Lima, Oman, damaging the vessel’s engine room. The group said that on Saturday a large splash and an explosion were reported close to another tanker while it was sailing 21 nautical miles northwest of Khasab city.