New Delhi (India) August 2: US President Donald Trump said that planned US and Israeli military strikes on Iran would be cancelled on the insistence of Iranian authorities and other countries, saying that terms of a deal have already been agreed. Trump said that the terms include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Israel too has agreed to join the US efforts and make the efforts to finalize a deal with Iran and end the 5 months long war, he stated.
"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," he said.
“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," he added.
Rubio Says Pressure Forced Iran To Negotiate
In response to Trump’s comments soon after, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Iran seemed to be much more interested in striking a deal, including over the nuclear programme, and the Strait of Hormuz due to the offensive measures by the US military.
In an interview with Fox News, he, meanwhile, also reiterated that Iran’s navy and air force, missile defense, launchers and weapons-manufacturing units were destroyed, while defensive capability has been ‘severely reduced’.
“And that’s changed the whole dynamic. It’s the only reason why they are now willing and in some cases, seem eager, to do a deal on denuclearisation, to do a deal on the straits. Because we are now approaching them from a position of strength, not from a position of weakness,” he said.
Iran Warns Against Any Fresh US Strike
Iran cautioned the US at the time against adventures over any prospect of planned military strikes against Iran and promised retaliation in case of any action.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi held conversations on Saturday with senior leaders in Saudi Arabia merely a few hours after the Kuwait Military said they had successfully neutralized enemy drones that had originated from Iran.
Trump Shifts From Military Threat To Diplomacy
Trump’s statement on the subject represented a shift; it followed an announcement a day prior where he had hinted towards another phase of extensive military action against the regime in Tehran in an attempt to bring them to negotiations.
The US and its ally Israel initiated a war on 28 February, targeting Tehran, where Trump clarified, that the war was initiated with a view to eliminating their long and short-range missile systems, denying Iran with access to nuclear weapons and ceasing its support to loyal proxy militant groups but plans and goals have repeatedly transformed in the conflict that began with the failure of a cease-fire deal earlier in June.