The U.S. has agreed to pause attacks on Iran, President Donald Trump said Saturday, amid what he said were the “perimeters of a deal” that would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
“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,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”
The president said the U.S. was “locked and loaded and ready to go” but that he agreed to cancel attacks “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.”
He added that Israel, the U.S. partner in the war with Iran, “joins me in this commitment.”
“Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE,” Trump said of a possible new agreement.
The statement came after the State Department on Saturday urged Americans across the Middle East to consider leaving the region or be prepared to depart on short notice. It also warned of flight disruptions and security risks as the conflict with Iran appeared to be escalating.
Trump earlier threatened Iran with additional attacks, saying Friday that the U.S. will be “hitting them very hard,” while Iran has vowed to “punish” the U.S. and both nations traded what some U.S. officials described as “heavy” strikes.
Responding to Trump’s announcement, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told “Meet the Press” Sunday that the president should not trust Iran’s word.
Asked why a fresh deal would be different when the memorandum of understanding signed in June failed, he told moderator Kristen Welker: “Well, it may not be.”
“We only have three choices: escalate, retreat and come home, or maintain the status quo. I would maintain the status quo as long as I could,” he said.
Iran’s acting minister of defense, Majid Ibn al-Reza, meanwhile said that U.S. remarks should be viewed as “psychological and cognitive warfare.”
He said on X that the threat of further strikes would be taken “as the basis for increasing readiness, strengthening deterrence, and enhancing our own power.”
Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, a key regional player, spoke with Trump by phone Saturday. According to the Saudi state news agency, he told him that dialogue was needed to de-escalate Middle East tensions, and expressed concerns over plans for new strikes against Iran.
The State Department issued fresh security guidance Saturday for Americans in the region.
“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise caution and heightened vigilance and should be prepared for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions,” the State Department said. “Some airlines in the region have postponed resumption of earlier flight schedules; others have cancelled some routes. Americans in the region should consider departing, or be prepared to depart should there be escalation.”
The State Department also urged Americans to reconsider travel bans to or through the region.
The warning was distributed through U.S. embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The agency posted a nearly identical statement earlier this month, but that bulletin did not urge Americans to prepare to leave the Middle East or to reconsider upcoming trips, reflecting Washington’s growing concern that the conflict could widen.
On Saturday, the Kuwait Army said its air defense systems intercepted drone attacks from Iran.
“Kuwaiti air defenses are currently engaging hostile drone attacks following the Iranian aggression. The General Staff of the Army notes that any explosions heard are a result of air defense systems intercepting the hostile attacks,” the army said.
Earlier in the week, the U.S. military confirmed it had executed a “heavy wave of strikes” on Iran, hours after Fox News reported that the president in a phone call had vowed to “beat the f—–g s— out of” the country.
Trump has grown increasingly exasperated with the state of the war, one Trump ally told NBC News.
“There was not a real strategy for how long or what they should do to get to the endpoint,” the ally said.
The conflict has now entered its sixth month, despite Trump’s repeated early predictions that the war would resolve itself “shortly.”
The protracted conflict has led to soaring oil prices globally and rising gas prices in the U.S.
There was a brief reprieve from fighting in June when the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding outlining the process for talks to end the war.
But in early July, Trump declared a ceasefire to be “over” and the countries resumed striking targets in the Middle East.
