Trump Cancels Planned Iran Attack as It Disputes Hormuz Deal

U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday night that he had canceled a planned attack on Iran after Iran and several Middle Eastern countries asked Washington to allow more time for an agreement.

Trump said the proposed framework would include the “immediate, complete and total” reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat. He also said Israel supported the decision to hold off, though Jerusalem did not immediately issue its own confirmation.

“Based on this request, I have agreed … to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a deal,” Trump wrote.

The announcement reduced the immediate threat of another major U.S. campaign but did not establish that an agreement had been reached. No final terms, timetable or enforcement mechanism have been published, and Iranian sources quickly rejected Trump’s description of the talks.

The decision followed a weekend of conflicting reports over how close Washington was to launching the operation.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had ordered the military to begin a new campaign that could last several days. CBS News and Axios, however, reported that the United States and Israel had prepared plans to strike Iranian power plants, refineries and other energy infrastructure, but that Trump had not yet issued final execution orders.

CBS also cited an unnamed Israeli official who said Israel had not been informed of a decision to restart full military operations and had not been asked to participate. Other American sources told the network that Israel had been notified and was coordinating with Washington.

Trump’s later statement that he had canceled an attack indicated that a concrete operation had been prepared, but it did not clarify what orders the U.S. military had received.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged Trump during a Saturday phone call to avoid a broader attack and prioritize negotiations, according to Axios. Saudi Arabia feared that strikes on Iranian energy and civilian infrastructure could prompt Iran to attack oil and gas facilities across the Gulf.

Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Pakistan were also pressing for de-escalation, while Qatar and Oman remained involved in negotiations aimed at reopening Hormuz.

Iranian state-aligned media disputed Trump’s announcement on Sunday. The semi-official Fars news agency cited Iranian sources denying that Tehran had agreed to Trump’s description of an “immediate, complete and total” reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. According to the report, Iran intended to continue regulating traffic through designated routes while U.S. military action remained a threat.

Iranian military officials separately rejected Trump’s claim that Tehran had asked Washington to cancel the planned attack. In comments carried by Iran’s Mehr news agency on Sunday, the officials called Trump’s account “a new lie” and said Iranian forces remained at their highest level of readiness.

Those appeals followed Iranian attacks across the region. On Friday, the Kuwaiti military said its air defenses had intercepted hostile drones targeting vital and military facilities. Maritime security incidents were also reported near Oman, including damage to a commercial tanker, while U.S. diplomatic missions warned Americans that further escalation could lead to flight cancellations and temporary airspace closures.

The immediate question is now whether Iran will accept Trump’s demand for unrestricted passage through Hormuz or only a managed routing system coordinated with Oman. Negotiators must also determine what Trump means by ending Iran’s nuclear threat, what commitments Iran would make and how any agreement would be monitored.

Trump said he canceled the planned attack only on the condition that an agreement be reached quickly. He did not announce a deadline, but he had told Axios last week that there was “not much time” for negotiations and that the talks would either progress rapidly or fail.