US President Donald Trump has said he would hold off on a fresh attack on Iran as long as a deal could be reached quickly on Iran’s nuclear programme and reopening the Strait of Hormuz completely.
The announcement came after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he had informed his Turkish, Pakistani and Saudi counterparts that the Islamic Republic would act “decisively” in the event of any further US “aggression”.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that its Aerospace Force targeted the US F-35 repair hangar and ramp at Al-Azraq Base in Jordan with multiple ballistic missiles on Saturday, as the US reportedly geared up for major strikes targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure.
But on Saturday night, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Iran and “other Middle Eastern Countries” asked for time to complete a deal that would lead to “the Immediate, Complete and Total” reopening of the Strait and “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat”.
“Based on this request,” Trump continued, “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”.
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He added that Israel “joins me in this commitment”.
Citing US officials, Axios said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had called Trump on Saturday and urged him to de-escalate tensions and refrain from launching the strikes.
According to Saudi state media on Sunday, the crown prince stressed “the necessity of prioritising dialogue to de-escalate tensions and the importance of exerting all possible efforts to achieve a truce, which paves the way for diplomatic solutions”.
He also said diplomatic solutions should “yield positive results for preserving the security and stability of the region and prevent it from being drawn into a wider conflict”.
Israeli attacks on Gaza
Meanwhile, Israeli attacks on Gaza have continued.
The Israeli military said it killed two Hamas commanders with air strikes on Friday and Saturday in Gaza. The two were reportedly Salem Jamal Abd al-Rahman Abu Labad, an alleged cell commander in Hamas’s Nukhba special forces, and Muhammad Abd al-Nasser Muhammad Khatib, an alleged commander in Hamas’s Maghazi Battalion.
Then on Sunday, Israeli strikes killed nine Palestinians in Gaza, including three children, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.
Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed 73,356 people since October 2023, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza.
The ‘Board of Peace’ announced a Palestinian body will take Hamas weapons. That’s not what Trump said
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On Sunday morning, a Hamas delegation met officials from Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Cairo, with the two groups stressing the need to force Israel to end its military offensive and fully withdraw from Gaza.
The groups called for “developing joint action and unified national positions, and exerting all efforts to protect the Palestinian people and restore their legitimate rights”.
This comes after Trump on Friday said that the “Board of Peace” would collect Hamas’s weapons as the group begins to disarm, even though the board itself had announced that a Palestinian technocratic body would assume that role.
Hamas insisted any agreement for “complete disarmament” of Palestinian factions in Gaza depends on Washington and Israel honouring commitments made under the 10 October ceasefire deal.
Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas representative, told Reuters on Friday that the group would retain its weapons until Israel halted its attacks, allowed more aid and goods into Gaza, and withdrew its forces.
