Hours after vowing to hit Iran 'very hard', Trump cancels planned strikes

Moments after President Donald Trump threatened to intensify strikes against Iran in retaliation for violations of the ceasefire in place, he rescinded the order for a massive, immediate wave of military bombardments scheduled for Thursday evening. In a post on Truth Social and during an interview with Fox News, Trump asserted that the U.S. "will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most of its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT." The President also announced that "we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela." 

However, about five hours later, the President decided not to go through with this threat, claiming that "discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved." Writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said that he has cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran "this evening." "Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others. The Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized — Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly," the President wrote. 

This is not the first time that Trump has threatened and later rescinded his threat, claiming progress in talks with Iran. A similar situation emerged in the Middle East after the President had threatened to "wipe out an entire civilization" if Iran failed to join the negotiating table. The President chose not to escalate the conflict with Iran back then as well. Notably, over the last few weeks, Trump has repeatedly claimed that Tehran and Washington were on the cusp of a deal. However, no concrete development has been observed, and Tehran has countered the President's posts as "lies." 

Even after the President's latest Truth Social post, Iran's Fars news agency quoted what it described as a source close to Iran’s negotiating team to dismiss Trump's claims. "No text has been approved for an initial memorandum of understanding with the United States," the source was quoted as saying. Channel 12 News Israel also claimed that both Israel and Iran have denied the existence of any agreed-upon deal.