Washington: US President Donald Trump said that negotiations with Iran will begin on Monday, August 3, noting that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar had asked the United States to call off planned strikes because “they think there’s a deal.”
“There’s a deal on (the Strait of) Hormuz, and then there will be a deal on the nuclear, or you might call it the denuclearization of Iran,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews.
Claiming that Iran had also asked the United States to pull back the planned strikes, Trump said that “now what we’re doing is we’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation.”
Trump says cancelled Iran strike would have been biggest since WWII
US President Donald Trump said that the military strike against Iran that he ultimately called off would have been the largest American attack since World War II.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump described the planned operation as “a massive attack”, adding that it would have been “by far, the biggest attack since World War II.”
His remarks came a day after he claimed on Truth Social that the US military was “locked and loaded” for an unprecedented campaign against Iran before he decided to halt the operation.
According to Trump, the decision followed appeals from Iran and key Gulf allies, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, who urged him to give diplomacy a chance.
“I was asked to by Saudi Arabia, by UAE, and by Qatar, and by Iran,” Trump said. “We were all set to go, but when the allies ask to call it off, you gotta sort of say, ‘well let’s see.'”
He added that the proposed agreement would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz and addressing Iran’s nuclear programme.
“So, we’re holding it. We’ll just see,” Trump said.
Saudi Crown Prince spoke with Trump
Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud spoke on the phone with Trump on Saturday and “expressed concern and asked for clarity” about the proposed plan of action against Iran, a US official told news outlet Axios.
Pakistan, Qatar, the UAE, Turkiye and other countries have also called on the United States and Iran to de-escalate tensions and avoid further conflict, reports Xinhua news agency.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump said the United States had agreed to hold off a planned military attack on Iran after Tehran and several Middle Eastern countries requested a pause, claiming that the framework of a potential agreement had been reached.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the US remained fully prepared for military action but had decided to suspend the planned strike to allow diplomacy to move forward.
“The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II,” Trump wrote.
He said Iran and other countries in the Middle East had urged Washington to delay military action because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
According to Trump, the proposed agreement would include the “Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”
“Based on this request, 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 said.
He also claimed that Israel supported the decision to pursue the diplomatic path.
Iran’s FM says talks with Oman on Hormuz Strait in final stages
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that negotiations between Iran and Oman on the Strait of Hormuz are in their final stages, the official news agency IRNA reported.
Araghchi said on Sunday during a cabinet meeting that the negotiations have progressed and are on the path of being finalised.
Elaborating on the Iran-Oman talks in an interview with state-run IRIB TV on Sunday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stressed that reaching an agreement between the two countries is not related to the waterway’s reopening or continued closure, reports Xinhua news agency.
Baghaei said Iran and Oman are working to designate a “new route” in the strait within a traffic separation scheme format that can ensure both sides’ sovereign rights as well as Iran’s national interests and security.
Earlier, Iran’s Acting Defense Minister Seyed Majid Ebn Al-Reza said Sunday that Tehran perceives every “enemy” threat as “real and noteworthy,” rejecting any characterization of them as mere psychological warfare.
“We will neither be surprised nor remain passive. We use threats as a basis to increase our preparedness, strengthen our deterrence, and develop our power,” Al-Reza wrote on social media platform X after US President Donald Trump said earlier that he had agreed to hold off fresh attacks against Iran.
Tehran tightened its grip on the strait after the United States and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran on February 28.
The US military launched multiple waves of strikes against Iranian targets last month, saying they were in response to Iranian attacks on vessels in the strait and aimed at “degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping.”
Iran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting US military bases and facilities in the region.
