Washington (GNP): US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that a fresh round of negotiations with Iran would open on Monday afternoon, after he pulled back from what he described as plans for a massive military strike on the country. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said the two sides were now engaging in direct negotiation rather than confrontation, though he did not disclose where the talks would be held or who would attend.
The decision to stand down came after Trump said he had been approached by Iran and by regional partners including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, who urged him to hold off because the outline of a deal was already in place.
He said an understanding on the Strait of Hormuz was close, with a broader agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme expected to follow. Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency rejected this account, dismissing Trump’s version of events as false.
The renewed diplomatic push follows nearly six months of war between the United States and Iran, which began on February 28 after Washington and Israel launched surprise strikes against Iranian targets.
The conflict has moved through repeated cycles of escalation and de-escalation, including a ceasefire arrangement covering the Strait of Hormuz that later collapsed, after which Iran tightened its grip on the waterway and began charging tolls on vessels passing through it. That dispute over access became the immediate trigger for the return to strikes last month, with Tehran insisting that ships travel only along a route hugging the Iranian coastline.
Tension had been building again in recent days, with Trump threatening to hit Iran “very hard” and reportedly weighing renewed attacks that could have extended to energy infrastructure, prompting US embassies across the region to go on alert.
On Air Force One, Trump described the shelved operation as the largest planned attack since World War II, though he declined to confirm whether energy facilities had been among the intended targets, a category of strike that international law experts have said could amount to a war crime.
On the Iranian side, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran was nearing an agreement with Oman on a new route through the Strait of Hormuz, one that would avoid both the northern and southern paths currently in dispute while protecting what he called Iran’s sovereign rights and security interests. He stressed that any such arrangement would not amount to a full reopening of the strait.
Separately, Iranian lawmaker Hassan Ghashghavi said mediators were working to revive the memorandum of understanding both countries had agreed in June, which was originally meant as a stepping stone toward a comprehensive settlement rather than a final peace deal.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian added on social media that the priority now was to hold the other side to what it had already signed.
The prospect of renewed talks was accompanied by volatility in the Strait of Hormuz itself, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes. A tanker off the coast of Oman reported hearing an explosion nearby on Sunday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre, though the vessel and its crew were unharmed. Shipping data firm Kpler had reported a sharp drop in traffic through the strait in the days before.
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Financial markets responded to the prospect of de-escalation. Wire reports on the announcement gave slightly varying figures: one account put Brent crude down 4.5 percent to 83.98 dollars a barrel and US-traded crude down 4.6 percent to 80.74 dollars, while another cited West Texas Intermediate falling 4.7 percent to 80.72 dollars a barrel in early Monday trading in Asia.
Despite the latest de-escalation, Trump has repeatedly signaled that a negotiated resolution was near, only for fighting to resume before an agreement could be finalized, and he offered no timeline on Sunday for when a deal with Tehran might actually be reached.
Managing Editor at Global News Pakistan (GNP), with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Riphah International University, graduated with a Gold Medal. Reach out at sabahtareengnp@gmail.com
