President Donald Trump said Saturday night he would order American forces to pause planned strikes on Iran after regional allies reached what he called the outline of a deal to end the five month conflict.
Trump said the emerging agreement would require Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end what he described as its nuclear threat. He announced the decision in a post on his social media platform.
“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.
What We Know So Far
A regional official involved in mediation said the proposal would send American and Iranian negotiators back to the table to work through issues that have repeatedly stalled progress. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks publicly, said the plan calls for reopening the strait and halting attacks across the region, including those carried out by Iran backed militias against Gulf countries and Jordan.
In exchange, the official said, the United States would lift its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to resume oil exports under the terms of an earlier ceasefire framework. No final agreement has been reached, the official said, though mediation efforts are continuing.
Trump said Israel had joined his commitment to end the war through the ceasefire framework. Israeli officials did not comment publicly on the announcement, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has previously distanced itself from earlier agreements Trump announced on Iran, including a memorandum of understanding that later collapsed.
Trump’s announcement came shortly after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with him by phone Saturday. A person briefed on the call said the crown prince raised concerns that Iran could retaliate against Saudi and Gulf energy infrastructure if the United States expanded its strikes. A White House official confirmed the call took place but did not describe its substance.
Iran’s defense minister wrote on social media that the country remained alert to what he called concrete threats from Washington, adding that Tehran was neither surprised nor passive following Trump’s statement.
Kuwait’s military said Saturday it shot down drones it said Iran launched at facilities in the country’s north, including a government site and a company property on Bubiyan Island. Falling debris caused property damage but no injuries, the Kuwaiti military said. Britain’s maritime trade agency separately reported two incidents near Oman, including a tanker struck in its engine room by an unidentified projectile.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, told counterparts in Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia that any strikes by the United States or Israel, or participation by other countries in such action, would draw what he called a proportionate response. An outlet affiliated with Iran’s top security body said strikes on Iranian energy sites would prompt retaliation against oil fields in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and gas fields in Qatar and Israel.
What Authorities Are Saying
Trump described American forces as fully prepared to strike Iran before announcing the pause, writing that the country was ready to act with force not seen since World War Two. He said Iran and other governments in the region had asked him to hold off given the progress reached on a deal framework.
“Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE,” Trump wrote, closing his post with a call for negotiators to finalize terms quickly.
The State Department issued new security guidance Saturday urging Americans in the region to prepare for flight cancellations and possible airspace closures. The alert covered Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Why This Matters
Trump has announced pauses in strikes on Iran on multiple occasions since the United States and Israel first attacked the country in late February, only for fighting to resume each time. That pattern raises questions about how durable Saturday’s announcement will prove, particularly given the absence of a signed agreement and the involvement of parties, including Israel, that have not confirmed the terms publicly.
The reported Saudi phone call adds a notable dimension to the story. Riyadh has positioned itself as a mediator seeking to prevent the conflict from spreading to Gulf energy infrastructure, even as it joined the United States earlier in the week in striking militia targets in Iraq. Saudi Arabia’s dual role, participating in strikes while also pressing Washington toward restraint, illustrates the delicate position Gulf states occupy between alliance commitments to the United States and fears of Iranian retaliation against their own oil and gas facilities.
The attacks reported by Kuwait and near Oman underscore how the conflict has already begun affecting shipping and infrastructure well beyond Iran and Israel, raising the stakes for any breakdown in the emerging framework. A wider escalation targeting energy infrastructure could disrupt global oil markets given the region’s role in global supply.
What Happens Next
Mediators are continuing talks aimed at converting the framework into a signed agreement, though officials cautioned no deal has been finalized. The Trump administration has said any renewed negotiations depend on Iran first agreeing to a ceasefire and ending attacks on American forces, commercial shipping and Gulf allies, while insisting the Strait of Hormuz remain open and that Iran abandon its nuclear program.
Given the repeated collapse of earlier pauses, the coming days are likely to test whether this framework holds longer than previous attempts, particularly as Israel’s public silence on the announcement leaves open the possibility of renewed friction between Washington and Jerusalem over how to proceed.
Gaza Strikes Kill Eight, Including Two Children
Separately, Israeli strikes across Gaza early Sunday killed at least eight Palestinians, including two children, and wounded more than a dozen others, local health officials said.
A strike on a residential building in southern Gaza killed three family members, including a four year old child, according to Nasser Hospital, where the bodies were taken. Another strike on an apartment in Gaza City killed three family members, including a child, and wounded others, health officials at Shifa Hospital said. The mother in that household was six months pregnant, the hospital said.
In central Gaza, a man and his wife were killed in a separate strike that wounded four other people, according to the main hospital serving the area. Israel’s military said the overnight strikes targeted Hamas operatives but did not provide further detail.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 1,222 Palestinians, including at least 260 children, have been killed since a ceasefire began in October. Five Israeli soldiers have died in that period. Hamas and Israel continue to accuse each other of violating the ceasefire’s terms.
Reporting drawn from the Associated Press, the New York Post, Fox News, The Guardian, Reuters, Agence France Presse, Axios and CBS News
