Trump cancels threatened Iran strikes, says deal nearly done

Tehran has yet to reach a final decision on an agreement with the US, Iranian media outlets cited the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson as saying.

The official IRNA news agency cited Esmaeil ​Baghaei as saying that matters related to the peace agreement are speculation, adding that nothing has been finalized. He stressed that Iran would not compromise on its “red lines.”

He did acknowledge that a large part of the text had been finalized, but added that “Americans keep changing their positions.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed appreciation for US President Donald Trump and his “commitment on terms of any final Iran agreement,” while clarifying that Israel is not a party to the memorandum of understanding announced by Trump.

Netanyahu spoke to Trump on Thursday after the latter announced the said deal, which has yet to be formally addressed by Tehran.

The Israeli prime minister’s office said Trump was committed to the removal of enriched material from Iran, the dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, the limiting of missile production and ending Iran’s support for regional proxies.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he believes Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has personally approved a deal set to end the war.

“I understand the answer is yes,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office regarding the Iranian leader’s stance on the deal, which he described as a “very strong memorandum of understanding.”

Trump also said that a threatened US military operation against Iran’s Kharg Island was off the table for now.

Tehran has yet to formally address the deal Trump is referring to. Iranian media has reported that Iran has not approved any US memorandums of understanding.

US President Donald Trump gave more details on what he said was an imminent signing of a deal with Iran, telling reporters in the White House it could be signed as early as this weekend.

“We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, saying that they would “subject to finalization of documents, which should get done, over the next few days, probably have a signing, maybe in Europe.”

He added that the signing would be attended by Vice President JD Vance.

Vance led a negotiating delegation with Iran earlier in April, but the talks failed to reach a resolution to end the conflict.

After US President Donald Trump said he was canceling strikes on Iran on Thursday, citing progress in negotiations, Tehran has denied approving any texts for an initial memorandum of understanding with the US, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Fars was citing a source close to Iran’s negotiating team.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump said “discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved” by “all parties involved.”

But Iran was not among the list of 11 countries he named in his post.

US President Donald Trump called off plans for further strikes on Iran, saying that the final points of a deal with Tehran have been “approved by all parties involved.”

“Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening,” Trump wrote on social media.

Countries that approved the discussions, according to Trump, include the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Egypt.

“The Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized — Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly,” the US president wrote

Iran on Thursday warned the US of a more severe response than before if it attacks once again.

A statement by Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, was carried by state media after US President Donald Trump said his country’s forces would strike Iran again, following two consecutive nights of attacks.

“Considering recent ‌US ​threats against Iran’s oil infrastructure, either oil and ​gas exports are for everyone or they ⁠will ​be available ​for no one,” ​the command ‌said, adding the war ⁠would ​become more widespread and extensive, causing insecurity in the region.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker and negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf on Thursday warned the US of “an endless quagmire” amid daily US strikes on Iran that have further weakened an already shaky ceasefire.

“Wrong strategies and impulsive decisions will reset the entire board for the worse, explode energy infrastructure and markets and create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years,” Qalibaf said on X.

He vowed that “you will see a different Iran.”

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi about the escalation of violence in the Middle East. In a post on X, she said she emphasized the need for a diplomatic solution to the war.

“I spoke to Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi about ‌the latest escalation in the Gulf and the state of negotiations with the US. I’ve also been in touch with the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad ⁠Al-Sabah. The resumed attacks on the Gulf countries and their critical infrastructure are unacceptable,” Kallas wrote.

“A return to full-scale ​war ⁠would come at a tremendous cost to ⁠the entire region,” she added. “The diplomatic route remains the best path out of this war,” she added.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on “all parties” to work towards a solution that “fully respects the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon.”

Israel has stepped up its military operations in Lebanon since March, while the Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah has been firing missiles and drones into northern Israel.

The conflict has continued despite a US-brokered ceasefire ostensibly being in place.

In a post on X, Guterres said diplomatic efforts should start with a “comprehensive ceasefire.”

The UN chief also said he is in favor of the Lebanese government having a “monopoly on weapons.”

US President Donald Trump has told broadcaster Fox News that he would prefer not to strike Iranian civilian infrastructure, after he had vowed to hit Iran “very hard.”

In an interview with the Fox & Friends program, the president was asked if the US would attack Iranian power plants and bridges.

“Yeah, but I’d rather not do it, because once you do that, the people suffer,” Trump said.

The US struck a steel plant and a bridge in early April. Deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime, according to the International Criminal Court.

During the same interview, Trump warned there would be “more bombing” on Thursday night.

“It will be bigger — bigger, more powerful,” he said.

Despite the threats of fully resuming its bombing campaign, Trump said negotiations with Iran were ongoing. He also said he wants to take over Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal.

“We are talking to them ​and all, but you ​know, ‌look, my preference has always been — take Kharg Island … my preference would be ‌that. I don’t know that America ‌has ​the stomach for it,” he said.

President Donald Trump has said that US forces “will be hitting Iran very hard tonight.”

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump also said the US would, “at some point in the not too distant future … assume total control” of Iran’s oil and gas markets.

Trump also repeated Washington’s claim that Iran’s “navy, air force, radar, anti-aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most of its offensive capability, are gone.”

Trump’s claims appear to contradict the reality on the ground, however. Iran was accused of downing a US Army helicopter this week, and it also targeted Israel and US bases in several nations in the region on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, the US leader repeated his claim that a deal with Iran was imminent.

But the two countries have traded escalating fire in the past two days, casting doubt over the viability of the ceasefire, which appears to have collapsed.

A tanker carrying 20 Indian crew members off Oman was hit by a US strike on Thursday that caused a fire in its engine room.

It is the third US strike this week involving Indian crews.

India’s shipping ministry said that all crew members of the Guinea-flagged asphalt tanker Jalveer were safe and being evacuated in coordination with the Royal Navy of Oman.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said missiles were fired at the engine room “after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from US forces.”

The incident comes after three Indian sailors died in a US strike on the Settebello tanker ‌off Oman ⁠on Wednesday. 

In another US strike on Monday, the Marivex oil tanker — the only of the three vessels under US sanctions — ​was disabled using precision munitions.

CENTCOM said the ​Marivex and Settebello also both failed to follow directions as US forces enforced a blockade on Iran-related shipping. 

According to the Indian shipping ministry, there are more than 320,000 Indian nationals working as sailors on commercial vessels worldwide.  

Thousands of them are among the estimated 20,000 seafarers stranded by the Strait of Hormuz blockade.

India’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned a senior US diplomat to convey its “deepest concerns” and formally protest the strike that killed the three sailors.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the latest US strikes on the country, saying they constituted a disregard for a ceasefire in place since April 8.

In a statement, the ministry said “the illegal and criminal attacks perpetrated by the United States in recent hours not only constitute a flagrant violation … but also render the ceasefire practically meaningless.”

It added that the “responsibility for the extremely serious consequences of this criminal act lies with the leaders of the United States.”

The US carried out strikes on what officials said were some 20 sites in Iran overnight after US President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations.

Both Pakistan and Qatar, which have been acting as mediators between Washington and Tehran, have, however, indicated that peace negotiations were still going on behind the scenes despite the new flare-up in hostilities.

The strikes took place while a Qatari delegation was in Tehran for discussions that a diplomatic source said were “conducted in coordination with the United States.”

Germany continues to be prepared to take part in any naval mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz once the conflict between the US and Iran has ended, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday. 

Berlin remained committed to the idea if the necessary conditions are fulfilled, he told lawmakers.

“Until then, we are committed to a diplomatic solution to the conflict,” he added. 

Merz’s comments come as Iran said it had completely closed off the vital transport waterway following renewed strikes by the US.

The US Central Command has denied Iran’s claim, saying commercial traffic is continuing to flow through the strait.
  
Germany’s military, the Bundeswehr, has been preparing since May for an operation in the Strait of Hormuz that could include minehunter vessels.