Donald Trump leaving a cabinet meeting on Friday (Picture: Nathan Howard – Pool/ Getty Images)
Donald Trump has once again pulled back from the brink after threatening ‘very hard’ strikes on Iran.
The US President said his decision to cancel the attack was ‘subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL’ in a post on his Truth Social site.
But there appears to be little progress on securing a lasting end to the war,after the US military carried out a ‘heavy wave’ of strikes on Thursday in retaliation for attempted Iranian strikes on Tuesday.
In a cabinet meeting on Friday,Trump said: ‘We will be hitting them very hard. At some point they’re going to say,“We just can’t take it anymore.”‘
That night,Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed to have struck two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz,but there was no immediate pushback from the US.
According to CBS News,multiple sources said the US and Israel were planning a massive bombing campaign against Iranian energy infrastructure.
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Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.In his message on Truth Social,posted just after 10pm local time,Trump claimed the US was ‘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,he said Iran and ‘other Middle Eastern Countries’ had asked him to hold off ‘in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to’.Such a deal would include the ‘Immediate,Complete and Total’ reopening of the Strait of Hormuz – with the blockage still causing immense pain in the global economy – and Iran’s abandonment of any nuclear ambitions.Trump’s post continued: ‘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.‘The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work,everybody,and get it DONE.’US outlet Axios reported Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman had called Trump yesterday and ‘expressed concern’ about the possible strikes.The war in Iran has now been going on for more than five months after the first attacks were launched by the US and Israel on March 1,despite the president repeatedly promising he could bring it to a speedy resolution.Trump’s approval ratings have fallen to near-historic lows among the US public – beaten only by Richard Nixon shortly before his resignation over Watergate.He has also come under immense pressure from world leaders to find a way of ending the war as the impact on oil continues to have a massive impact on economies around the globe.
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