US President Donald Trump has claimed that a planned military strike on Iran, scheduled for Tuesday, has been postponed after Tehran made a new proposal to end the war in the Middle East. Trump said in a social media post that leaders of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia had asked him to hold off on the attack because serious negotiations were now taking place. He instructed military leaders to be prepared for a full-scale assault on Iran at a moment's notice if talks fail.
Iran's foreign military spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said Pakistan had shared Tehran's latest proposal with the US. However, a Pakistani source expressed pessimism, telling Reuters that Washington and Tehran kept changing their goalposts and that time was running out. Regional officials said Iran had made concessions including a long-term suspension of its nuclear programme, transfer of highly enriched uranium to Russia, and a phased reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the US had agreed to waive sanctions on Iran's oil exports during negotiations, but there was no independent confirmation. Talks have been marked by misleading statements from all sides. Rhetoric remains defiant, with Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatening to impose permits on internet cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz, implying tolls on shipping.
Despite a ceasefire that paused most violence after six weeks of US-Israeli airstrikes and Iranian retaliation, drones have been launched from Iran towards Gulf countries. One drone strike caused a fire at a nuclear power plant in the UAE, and Saudi Arabia reported intercepting three drones. Analysts say the conflict is deadlocked, with both sides under pressure to end the war but lacking incentives for painful concessions.
