President Donald Trump has said the United States and Israel agreed to hold off on any new strikes on Iran, provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is reached quickly (Geo News).
“We have just been asked by Iran and other Middle Eastern Countries to hold off on any attack,” Trump said.
The announcement followed mounting fears that the fighting could escalate again after Trump threatened to hit Iran “very hard” and was reported to be considering renewed heavy attacks, including on energy infrastructure.
He paired the pause with a threat. “The USA 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,” he said in a post on Truth Social late on Saturday.
The conditional framing matters for a mediation Pakistan has led with Qatar. A pause that holds only while a deal is judged imminent gives the mediators a window rather than a settlement, and leaves the timetable in Washington’s hands.
The unresolved question remains control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has sought to manage transit alongside Oman and to charge service fees; Washington has insisted on free passage and called mandatory fees illegal. Gulf states have backed a compromise under which any fee would be voluntary.
Oil prices rose late in the week after Iran said its forces had stopped ships in the strait, with July gains approaching 23 per cent.
