Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump announced Saturday evening that he would hold off on ordering new strikes against Iran, claiming that Middle East allies had reached the parameters of a deal to end the five-month-old conflict.
In a social media post, Trump stated the emerging framework 'would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran's nuclear threat.' He added: '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.'
Trump also said that Israel has agreed to join the U.S. in the commitment to try to complete the agreement with Iran — a stated intention, not a formal adhesion to any finalized accord. Iran offered no immediate public reaction to the announcement.
Saudi Arabia's role
Earlier Saturday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto leader, spoke with Trump by phone and raised concerns about the U.S. potentially escalating the conflict, according to a person familiar with the leaders' discussion, first reported by Axios. The Saudis, per that person — who was not authorized to comment publicly — fear that strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure could prompt Tehran to retaliate against Gulf states' own energy assets.
The crown prince sought clarity from Trump on what potential new action he was weighing. A White House official confirmed the two leaders spoke Saturday but offered no detail on the substance of the call.
Saudi Arabia had joined the U.S. earlier this week in striking multiple logistics and weapons sites used by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, while simultaneously urging both Washington and Tehran to return to the negotiating table. The crown prince also dispatched his brother, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, to Washington earlier this week for separate meetings with Trump and Vice President JD Vance to discuss Iran strategy.
The pressure building on Trump
The backdrop is significant. Trump had vowed retaliatory action after the U.S. military thwarted a surprise Iranian attack on a U.S. base in Jordan earlier this week. On Friday, he told reporters the U.S. would hit Iran 'very hard' until they 'can't take it anymore.' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed frustration that Tehran had last month signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. on a truce but then 'broke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers.'
The U.S. State Department on Saturday issued new security alerts for Americans in ten countries — Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — urging citizens to exercise heightened caution and prepare for possible flight cancellations, temporary airspace closures and other travel disruptions.
CEO Times view
The Strait of Hormuz is not an abstraction — roughly 20 percent of global oil trade transits those waters. Every day the strait remains closed or threatened, energy markets price in a risk premium that functions as a hidden tax on every business and household in the Western economy. If Trump's deal diplomacy produces a verifiable, durable reopening and a credible end to Iran's nuclear ambitions, the market upside would be substantial and swift.
The harder question is verification. Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding last month and, according to Leavitt, broke it within weeks. Parameters are not a deal. Capital rewards clear rules, and right now the rules in the Persian Gulf remain dangerously unclear.
