Symbolic imageTrump announces US-Iran talks after calling off strike wave
US President Donald Trump says he cancelled a planned wave of strikes on Iran and that talks with Tehran open on Monday afternoon. Iranian agencies deny any deal on the Strait of Hormuz was reached.
What happened
- In a Truth Social post on Saturday night, 1 August, Trump named two conditions: full reopening of Hormuz, an end to Iran's nuclear threat.
- Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, he set no deadline for a deal.
- Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Trump spoke by phone on Saturday, The American Conservative reports.
- US officials told Israel's N12 that Israel was to take part in the planned attack.
- Axios reported Qatari mediators held separate talks with Omani officials, Iran's foreign minister and US envoy Steve Witkoff.
The view from outside
The American Conservative is the only source that counts the conflict in days (156 on Sunday) and carries Tehran's rebuttal at all; the Israeli reporting has neither. It also links the current dispute to a memorandum Trump and Iran's president signed last month, which broke down over Hormuz.
What could happen next
- Whether Iranian negotiators attend Monday's session, and at what level, is not confirmed by any Iranian source.
- Management of the Strait of Hormuz stays the unresolved point that already sank last month's memorandum.
- With no deadline attached, the timing of any renewed strike remains open.
- Israel's role and target list in a resumed attack are unsettled.
United States: Trump says he held off a strike that would have been the largest since World War II because Gulf negotiators told him a deal was imminent, and that Washington can strike whenever it wants.
Iran: Iranian military officials, cited by Mehr, call Trump's claim of an agreement "nothing but a new lie", Fars says no Hormuz deal exists, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Iran would act "decisively" against any attack.
Israel: US officials told N12 that Israel had said there was no point in striking unless the attack hit Iranian regime targets and sites tied to the country's economy.
Also involved