Washington, Aug 3: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he decided to hold off on ordering American forces to carry out new strikes against Iran at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The president added that a plan was in place for US forces to carry out “the biggest attack since World War II” on Sunday. But he decided to scrap the plan and give diplomacy more time to play out after hearing from key Gulf leaders — including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — as well as at the request of unnamed Iranian officials.

“I said to the crown prince, ‘What would you rather do? Would you rather us do this or not?'” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew back to Washington after spending the weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. “They said we would much prefer a deal as opposed to an attack, because you don’t know where these attacks lead.”

Trump and the crown prince spoke on Saturday before the US president announced in a social media post that Mideast allies had reached the “perimeters” of a deal to end the five-month-old war.

It was another turnabout for Trump, who a day earlier said he is “losing faith” in negotiations with Iran and offered the ominous warning that the US military “will be hitting them very hard”.

Trump on Sunday reiterated that the emerging deal would include a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway where about a fifth of the world’s energy flowed before the start of the war, and would resolve US concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme.

Iran has repeatedly attacked vessels attempting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz without its authorisation as part of its conflict with the US.

And Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz “will in no way return to the status it was before February 28”, the day the war started.

On a call with Iranian state TV, he added that Iran is discussing shipping through the strait with Oman, on the other side of Hormuz, but that there is no current talk about reopening the crucial waterway.

Trump has announced halts to strikes on Iran on several occasions since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, only for things to unravel and fighting to resume again.

Iran’s defence minister said on X that the country was “neither surprised nor passive” following Trump’s announcement and said Iran remains alert in the face of concrete threats from the US.

While Iran’s leaders appear united in a war strategy signalling strength and endurance, a struggle for control seems to be brewing within the theocracy’s leadership between those who oppose all negotiations with the US and others who count on military pressure to win at the negotiating table.

The latest proposal would bring sides back to negotiations

Trump on Sunday said he expected negotiations to resume “tomorrow afternoon” but did not detail who would be involved in such talks.

A regional official said the proposal announced by Trump over the weekend calls for the US and Iran to return to negotiations and continue working out many of the issues that have stymied prior progress on the deal.

The official, who is involved in the mediation efforts, said the proposal calls for reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The US, in exchange, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil as stated in the tentative ceasefire deal, he said.

No deal has been reached yet, but mediation efforts are underway, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media.

Trump said that Israel is joining his commitment to end the war by implementing the ceasefire deal reached in June. Israel did not publicly comment on the announcement.

Saudis are concerned about Iran’s retaliation

Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s de-facto leader, raised concerns about the US potentially escalating the conflict when he spoke with Trump by phone on Saturday.

The call was “candid and constructive”, according to a person briefed on the call who was not authorised to comment publicly and requested anonymity.

The crown prince conveyed that an escalation in fighting could have a severe impact on the global economy if Tehran responded to a new US bombardment by targeting some of the United States’ Gulf allies.

The call happened before Trump’s social media announcement, the person said. The crown prince sought clarity from Trump on what potential new action he was weighing to take against Iran.

Saudi officials, the person added, have underscored in their engagements with the Trump administration that the kingdom — as well as fellow Persian Gulf energy titans the United Arab Emirates and Qatar — are in a good position to defend against further potential Iranian attacks, but that Kuwait could be more vulnerable to attacks by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.

Trump suggested that his conversation with the Saudi crown prince weighed heavily in his decision to halt his plans to carry out strikes on Iran.

“It would have been disastrous for them. And they didn’t want us to do it,” Trump said. “And frankly, Saudi Arabia didn’t want it either. They thought that a deal is imminent.” (AP)

Two firefighting helicopters crashed while battling wildfires west of Athens on Sunday, triggering a major search and rescue operation as Greece continued to battle multiple blazes fuelled by extreme heat and strong winds, the international media and BBC reported.

According to the Greek Fire Service, the collision occurred in the wider Psatha area of Attica, west of Athens. The two Bell helicopters, leased by the fire department, had taken off from the Elefsina military airport and each was carrying a crew of two.

Authorities said a search and rescue operation was under way but had not disclosed the condition or identities of the four crew members. The cause of the mid-air collision was also not immediately known.

The helicopter crash came as Greece faced one of its most severe wildfire emergencies in recent years. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned that the country was experiencing “extreme weather conditions” and that “extremely difficult” days lay ahead.

In a Facebook post, Mitsotakis said winds had reached 100 kmph, making aerial firefighting operations highly dangerous. “There are moments when nature and the intensity of weather phenomena surpass any human planning and any operational capability,” he said.

The Prime Minister also paid tribute to three firefighters who lost their lives earlier this week while battling the blazes and praised the efforts of firefighters, volunteers and military personnel working to contain the fires.

The wildfires have forced the evacuation of thousands of people across Greece, including residents and tourists. On the island of Crete, fires have scorched thousands of hectares of land and led to the temporary evacuation of around 8,000 people. About 500 people, most of them tourists, were evacuated from central Greece on Friday, while fresh fires have also broken out on the islands of Paros, Andros and Kalymnos.

The wildfires in Greece are part of a broader wave of extreme fires sweeping southern Europe following successive heatwaves and prolonged dry conditions. France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and parts of the Balkans have all battled major wildfires in recent weeks, forcing thousands of evacuations, destroying forests and homes, and stretching firefighting resources. Authorities across the region have warned that soaring temperatures, strong winds and drought are creating increasingly dangerous conditions, with climate experts saying extreme weather is making wildfire seasons longer and more intense. According to the BBC, several European countries remain on high alert as fresh outbreaks continue to threaten communities and tourist destinations.

New Delhi, Aug 2: US President Donald Trump said he had cancelled a planned military strike against Iran after Tehran and several West Asian countries sought more time to finalise a deal that would include the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “The USA 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. 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

Trump’s statement came amid heightened tensions across West Asia after he had earlier warned that the United States would hit Iran “very hard.”

US media reports had said Washington was preparing fresh military strikes that could take place as early as this weekend.

The latest development followed intense diplomatic efforts by regional mediators, including Qatar and Pakistan, to prevent a fresh military escalation.

According to reports, officials from the two countries held urgent contacts with Iranian and US officials, including Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, while discussions also focused on restoring commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly urged de-escalation during a phone conversation with Trump, expressing concerns over possible US strikes on Iran. Saudi Arabia has consistently stressed the need to avoid a wider regional conflict.

Iran, however, maintained its warning against any fresh military action. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in separate conversations with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, said Tehran would respond “decisively and proportionally” to any aggression by the United States, Israel or their allies.

The situation remains tense despite Trump’s announcement.

The US State Department has issued a fresh travel advisory urging Americans in the Middle East to consider leaving the region due to the risk of “unforeseen escalation.” Tehran has also warned countries hosting US military bases against supporting any attack, while Kuwaiti authorities reported Iranian drone activity earlier on Sunday.

Trump’s announcement, if followed by a negotiated agreement, could temporarily ease fears of a wider regional conflict, although no formal confirmation of such a deal has yet been announced by Iran or other parties.