US President Donald Trump on Monday cancelled a scheduled military strike against Iran at the request of regional leaders, citing the resumption of “serious negotiations” with Tehran.
“I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Caine, and the United States Military, that we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
He credited Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with changing his mind, saying “a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond.”
Trump warned the pause is conditional. He instructed Pentagon and military leaders to remain “prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.” The latest message comes after days of escalating rhetoric, including a post on Sunday warning “the clock is ticking” for Iran or “there won’t be anything left of them.”
Pakistan has been the lead mediator since the US joined Israel in attacking Iran. The pause announcement lands alongside reporting that Washington has agreed to release a quarter of Iran’s frozen foreign assets as part of a Pakistan-brokered peace proposal — a concrete asset concession on top of the suspension of new strikes.
For Sri Lanka, a pause in renewed direct US-Iran hostilities would lower the near-term risk premium on Hormuz-routed crude shipments and ease pressure on the Rs. 57 billion fuel subsidy that the Treasury committed to in May to absorb the rupee slide and import-cost shock. The Brent crude benchmark, which has spent most of May above $105, will be the first market gauge of whether the diplomatic opening holds.
Sources: Newswire
