The Kabul Tribune KT) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States will refrain from launching a new military strike on Iran if a deal can be reached quickly to curb Tehran's nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Iran and
several Middle Eastern countries had requested additional time to finalize an
agreement that would lead to the "immediate, complete and total"
reopening of the strategic waterway and "an end to Iran's nuclear threat."
Trump did not identify the countries involved. His remarks
came after a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
"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 wrote.
He added that Israel "joins me in this
commitment."
The comments signaled a possible easing of tensions after
days of threats of further military action. The conflict between the United
States, Israel and Iran has expanded over the past five months, with
hostilities spreading across the Gulf, the Red Sea and reaching as far as a
facility in Egypt on the Mediterranean coast.
Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which
roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed
before the conflict. The disruption has driven up global energy prices and
fueled broader inflation concerns.
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen, who serves on Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet, said Israel and the United
States remained in close coordination on regional security and intelligence.
However, Cohen said Israel would continue to act against
Iran's nuclear and missile programs regardless of any diplomatic agreement.
"With or without an agreement, and regardless of any
external commitments, if Iran attempts to renew its nuclear programme or
advance its ballistic missile industries, we will be there. We will take
action, and we will strike," he said.
Trump and Netanyahu met in Washington last week to discuss
options for addressing Iran's nuclear program, including diplomacy, economic
pressure and military action, according to an Israeli official.
Iran has consistently denied seeking to develop nuclear
weapons, insisting its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
