Washington: President Donald Trump said Thursday that he had cancelled planned US strikes against Iran after discussions with Tehran reached the highest levels of the Iranian leadership, raising the prospect of a diplomatic agreement even as a US naval blockade remains in place.
“Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The announcement marked a sharp shift from Trump’s earlier warning that the United States would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and came amid continuing US military pressure on Iranian oil exports and maritime traffic.
Trump said, “discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others.”
He did not provide details of the proposed agreement or the issues under discussion.
The president, however, indicated that Washington would maintain its maritime pressure campaign against Tehran while negotiations continue.
“The Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalised — Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly,” Trump said.
The latest development came hours after US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that American forces had disabled a third commercial tanker this week for allegedly violating the blockade against Iran.
According to CENTCOM, the Guinea-Bissau-flagged M/T Jalveer was disabled in the Gulf of Oman late Wednesday after attempting to transport Iranian oil. The military said a US aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the vessel’s engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from US forces.
CENTCOM said the action followed similar operations earlier this week against the Palau-flagged vessels M/T Marivex and M/T Settebello. According to the military, one vessel attempted to sail to an Iranian port while the other sought to transport Iranian oil.
The U.S. military has also sought to reassure commercial shipping companies that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains open despite the confrontation.
(IANS)
