US President Donald Trump announced in a post on Truth Social on Saturday night that he had agreed to cancel a planned attack on Iran, but added that the Islamic Republic must agree to a deal swiftly.
"The U.S.A. is 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. Despite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to. This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat," Trump wrote.
He added, "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."
Trump’s post followed a report in Axios which said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a telephone conversation with Trump on Saturday to express deep misgivings over potential broad-scale military strikes targeting Iran.
"The Saudis expressed concern and asked for clarity about the plan of action," one US official told Axios.
A second source aware of the call noted that the Saudi Crown Prince directly encouraged Trump to pursue de-escalation and refrain from approving the military operation.
Neither the White House nor the Saudi embassy in Washington offered comment regarding the exchange.
On Friday, US officials told The Wall Street Journal that Trump had ordered a fresh attack on Iran that could begin as soon as the weekend and would last a few days.
The goal of the strike is getting Tehran to surrender, according to the officials.
An Iranian senior security official responded to the reports and told the Tasnim news agency, “We consider the claims made by American media outlets regarding potential US and Israeli attacks on Iran's infrastructure to be a form of recklessness."
The official warned that Iran has “prepared a comprehensive plan to respond, which includes critical infrastructure of the Israeli regime and US energy infrastructure in the region, and we are ready to implement it."
He further stated, “The Iranian armed forces have demonstrated, both during the 40-day conflict and in its continuation in recent weeks, that they have the capability and the will to carry out such actions."