Melanie Lidman
Tel Aviv, Israel: US President Donald Trump says he has halted new planned attacks on Iran pending renewed talks to wind down the war and revive stalled cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Over the weekend, he posted on his Truth Social platform that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked for time to complete a deal that would lead to “the Immediate, Complete and Total” reopening of the strait and “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat”.
But he warned that Tehran must “rapidly make a DEAL”. The official Iranian news agency IRNA on Sunday reported that negotiations between Tehran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz were in their final stages, citing Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
As Trump returned to Washington from a weekend in New Jersey, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that a negotiation would begin on Monday afternoon (Washington time), but did not provide details of where it would take place or who would be involved.
Asked if there was a deadline for Iran to come to an agreement, Trump declined to answer. “Would I rather make a deal? I’m not looking to kill people because people die, a lot of people die, and we don’t want that,” Trump said in response.
It was the latest in a pattern of announcements the US president has made to first threaten massive strikes and then later call them off.
The abrupt shifts have been a defining feature of the five-month conflict that has sent prices of oil and basic goods soaring – and the announcements to date have been upended by renewed attacks days or even hours afterward.
Here is a look at some of Trump’s past major announcements about pausing strikes against Iran:
April 7
The US and Iran agree to a two-week ceasefire to end the intense fighting that began on February 28 with Israeli and US attacks. Trump makes the announcement less than two hours before a deadline he had set for Tehran to capitulate or face attacks on bridges and power plants – strikes he said would mean “a whole civilisation will die”.
April 21
Trump announces that the US is indefinitely extending its ceasefire with Iran a day before it was to expire. He adds that he has been asked by mediators to hold off on attacks to give Iranian leaders time to come up with additional proposals. The fragile ceasefire lasts until May 8, when the US carried out strikes on Iranian tankers.
May 18
After a weekend of dire threats against Iran, Trump says he is holding off on a major planned military strike because “serious negotiations” were underway. “There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I’d be very happy,” he said. By May 27, US strikes were back on after negotiations faltered.
June 11
After two days of back-and-forth attacks, Trump threatens further escalation, saying the US would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and take “total control” of its oil and gas industries. Then, a few hours later, Trump posts on social media that there had been a breakthrough in negotiations and called off the strikes.
June 17
Trump signs an initial agreement with Iran that calls for a permanent end to hostilities and for reopening of the strait, and starts a 60-day negotiating clock to reach a final deal on the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Trump left the door open to abandoning it. “It’s a memorandum of understanding, and if I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs,” he said.
July 7
After Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the strait, Trump launches new strikes on Iran while he is in Ankara, Turkey, attending the NATO leaders’ summit. Later, he renews his threat to “just finish the job” on Iran after saying he believes the ceasefire is over.
July 27
Trump says he has paused two weeks of intense, daily US strikes on Iran to give negotiations another chance. During 13 days of strikes, the US military had targeted key military and commercial sites as clashes continued to escalate over shipping routes. In response, Iran had launched missiles and drones across the Middle East at countries that host US troops.
August 1
After telling reporters the US would hit Iran “very hard”, Trump says on social media that he has cancelled planned strikes, claiming Middle East allies had reached the parameters of a deal to end the war, including a reopening of the strait. “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. In response, Iran’s defence minister said that the country was “neither surprised nor passive” following Trump’s announcement and said Iran remained alert in the face of threats.
