Trump says US to hold off attacks on Iran

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he has agreed to hold off fresh attacks against Iran.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States "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," he said.

"This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran's nuclear threat," he added.

Trump also warned that his decision is "subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL."

At a Cabinet meeting on Friday at the Camp David retreat, Trump said he believed US negotiators, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, could still reach a deal with Iran.

But Trump also said he was losing faith in the Iranians, saying, "They break their word so often" – a claim Tehran has frequently leveled at Washington – and said he would be "hitting them."

Iran's preparedness

Earlier in the day, the US embassies in some 10 Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, warned American citizens to exercise caution and "consider departing or be prepared to depart should there be escalation."

The embassies advised US citizens in the Middle East to prepare for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures and potential travel disruptions. They also advised US citizens outside the region to "seriously reconsider travel to and through the Middle East."

Iran also warned over the weekend against any "adventurous action" by the US and said it would retaliate decisively if American forces followed through on Trump's earlier threats of fresh attacks on Iranian targets.

Speaking to Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran would respond decisively to any "aggression" and discussed the consequences of "destabilizing actions" by the US, as well as the prospects for heightened regional insecurity, according to Araqchi's Telegram account.

Araqchi later told Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan that any attacks by the US and Israel, or participation by regional countries in such actions, would be met with a "proportionate response" from Iran's armed forces. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke to Trump on Saturday and "expressed concern and asked for clarity" about US plans for Iran, Axios reported, citing a US official.

Nournews, a media outlet affiliated with Iran's top security body, said on Saturday that US attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure would prompt Iranian strikes on oil fields in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as gas fields in Qatar and Israel, saying, "all will be burned to ashes."

Strait of Hormuz

Oil prices have remained high since US and Israeli forces launched the war with strikes on Iran on February 28. Trump has argued that his stated goal of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons justifies higher fuel costs in the near term, but the economic pain has put political pressure on him to find a way to end the war.

Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 24% in July, and analysts polled by Reuters expect prices to rise further this year.

The risk of Iranian attacks has deterred most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global energy supplies, since the start of the conflict, sending shockwaves through the world economy.

Adding to the energy industry's concerns, Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen have recently threatened the Bab el-Mandeb, the strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, another export route for Saudi crude.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Saturday it had received reports of two maritime incidents off Oman, including one in which a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile that damaged the engine room. In the other incident, the master of a tanker reported seeing a large splash and an explosion close to the vessel, though no damage was reported.

(With input from agencies)