Just hours after warning that the US would be "hitting them very hard," President Trump announced he had called off a planned attack on Iran. In a cabinet meeting on Friday, he said: 'We will be hitting them very hard. At some point they're going to say, "We just can't take it anymore."'
That same night, Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed to have struck two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, but the US did not immediately respond.
Heavy strikes and planned campaign
The US military had carried out a "heavy wave" of strikes on Thursday in retaliation for attempted Iranian strikes on Tuesday. According to CBS News, multiple sources said the US and Israel were planning a massive bombing campaign against Iranian energy infrastructure.
Trump's Truth Social statement
In a post on Truth Social just after 10pm local time, Trump claimed the US was "locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II".
He said Iran and "other Middle Eastern Countries" had asked him to hold off "in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to". The deal would include the "Immediate, Complete and Total" reopening of the Strait of Hormuz – with the blockage still causing immense pain in the global economy – and Iran's abandonment of any nuclear ambitions.
Trump's post continued: '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. The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE.'
Regional pressure and war's toll
US outlet Axios reported Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman had called Trump and "expressed concern" about the possible strikes. The war in Iran has now been going on for more than five months after the first attacks were launched by the US and Israel on March 1, despite the president repeatedly promising he could bring it to a speedy resolution.
Trump's approval ratings have fallen to near-historic lows among the US public – beaten only by Richard Nixon shortly before his resignation over Watergate. He has also come under immense pressure from world leaders to find a way of ending the war as the impact on oil continues to have a massive effect on economies around the globe.
