Here's the latest
• Trump touts progress: President Donald Trump claimed the US has “ended the war with Iran,” after earlier Thursday announcing a “great settlement” that he said would resolve the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said Vice President JD Vance could attend a signing ceremony in Europe in the coming days.
• No confirmation from Tehran: Despite Trump’s pronouncement, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson has said the country did not yet reach a final decision on any agreement, according to state media. The spokesperson said reports of a deal were “merely speculation.”
• Recent escalations: Trump vowed earlier Thursday to take Kharg Island, which handles roughly 90% of Iran’s crude exports. Tehran said it targeted US bases in the region overnight for a second consecutive day, following US strikes across Iran.
President Donald Trump said he was canceling the strikes against Iran Thursday night that he’d previewed hours earlier because “final points” of an agreement between the two sides had been approved.
“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 Truth Social.
He said “discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved.”
He listed the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Egypt as nations involved in the approvals.
“The Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized,” he said.
“Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly,” he said.
It’s not the first time Trump has suggested a deal with Iran is close, and the assertion has fallen apart previously. But Iran did pass along its latest draft of the proposed agreement with the United States through Qatari mediators earlier this week, according to a person familiar with the matter.
US officials had been in frequent contact with the mediators, even as the US and Iran were trading strikes on consecutive days this week.
A Qatari delegation had been in Tehran this week for discussions about the deal.
Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has warned that any future US attack on Iran would trigger “a response even more severe than before,” in a statement published by Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA.
The statement, that was issued before US President Donald Trump said he was canceling tonight’s scheduled strikes against Iran, accused Washington of duplicity, saying, “On the one hand, the United States speaks of agreements and negotiations, while on the other it engages in hostile actions.”
It added that this “clear contradiction in America’s words and deeds is the main source of instability in the region,” and has “endangered international trade and economic security, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz.”
The command warned that if the United States “launch[es] another attack against Iran,” the conflict “would not only deepen regional instability but could also expand far beyond its current scope.”
The statement also threaten global energy flows, saying: “In light of recent US threats against Iran’s oil infrastructure, we declare that either oil and gas exports will remain available to all, or they will not be available to anyone.”
Earlier on Thursday, Trump warned that the US would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and vowed to take Kharg Island, which handles roughly 90% of Iran’s crude exports. Plans to capture the island have been drawn up for months but were repeatedly shelved because it was considered too risky, sources say.
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