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Trump again backs down from bombing Iran, claiming progress toward deal

August 3, 2026

US President Donald Trump announced he has called off a potential attack on Iran and its energy infrastructure, claiming progress had been made in negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

“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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Saturday night.

On Friday, Trump held discussions with his advisors at Camp David in which plans were drawn up to target Iran’s energy infrastructure, including oil refineries and power plants supplying electricity to millions of civilians in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

BREAKING: President Trump says he has cancelled the US attack on Iran and that the “perimeters of a deal” have been agreed to.

Trump says this deal will include “a total reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.” pic.twitter.com/QfmVV0BVGq

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) August 2, 2026

In a post on his Truth Social, Trump said, “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.”

However, Trump claimed on Saturday that Iran and other countries in West Asia had asked him to hold off on attacking because “the perimeters of a deal had been agreed to,” including opening the Strait of Hormuz.

“This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat,” Trump wrote.

According to Axios, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) spoke with Trump on Saturday, just hours before Trump’s Truth Social post. MbS reportedly expressed concern over the strike plans and urged Trump not to carry out the attacks.

Other US allies in the region, including Qatar, the UAE, Turkiye, and Pakistan, also reportedly asked the US to back down.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi warned the US against escalating its attacks, which resumed three weeks ago following the collapse of a ceasefire reached in June.

After again threatening devastating attacks on Iran, President Trump has once again canceled the attacks, claiming the "perimeters" of an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program have been reached. pic.twitter.com/zGhxaqzqNK

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) August 2, 2026

“Any hostile action by the U.S. or Israel — or participation or cooperation by regional countries in such actions — would be met with a decisive and proportionate response from Iran’s powerful armed forces,” Araghchi wrote on his Telegram channel.

Israeli media operative and Axios journalist Barak Ravid claimed to Israel’s Channel 12 that Araghchi agreed overnight to a proposal drafted by Qatari mediators to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, citing two diplomats familiar with the matter.

Ravid said that Araghchi’s acceptance of the proposal was one of the reasons President Trump agreed to call off the planned strikes on Iran.

The proposal allegedly calls for commercial ships entering the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to use Iranian territorial waters, while ships exiting the Gulf through the strait should use Omani territorial waters.

However, a source close to Iran’s negotiating team denied reports that an agreement to open Hormuz had been reached, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported on Sunday.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has reached no agreement regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the reports published in this regard are false,” the source stated.

A knowledgeable military source also rejected the claim, telling Fars that reports of an agreement to open the strait are “completely baseless.”

IRGC-affiliated Fars News:

A source close to Iran's nuclear negotiating team told Fars News that there is no agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and reports claiming otherwise are false.
A military source also said that as long as U.S. hostile actions continue, the Strait… pic.twitter.com/pZMmOwVFbB

— Wladimir van Wilgenburg (@vvanwilgenburg) August 2, 2026

The military source stated that as long as the US continues attacking Iran, the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed.

“Passage will only be permitted through the designated route, in coordination with the IRGC Navy and upon obtaining authorization to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Any other routes will be considered unsafe, and vessels attempting to use them will inevitably face incidents,” the source explained.

Iran’s Mehr News Agency commented that President Trump’s recent comments, in which he makes shocking threats, only to back down, show that he “pursues diplomacy not as a steady, sustainable path based on mutual trust, but rather as a temporary tool alongside military pressure.”

“For Trump, diplomacy and military action are two complementary tools that, depending on the circumstances, are employed to increase pressure, force Iran to retreat, and impose Washington’s desired framework.”